Heroics

     My husband was my hero on Monday, and I didn’t even know it. Matt had to leave for work early on Monday. When I got up, I noticed he had not worn his belt that day or put everything he usually carries in his pockets. When I asked him about it that evening, he told me that he was a little flustered and almost late for work. Then he told me why and turned into my hero for the day.

     When we moved to Montana eight years ago, one thing I noticed was the lack of bugs. They had spiders but no little scurrying bugs like cockroaches. Idaho did not have these either. I have not missed them at all. When we moved into our new house here in New Mexico, I saw one dead cockroach in the bathroom. I swept it up, but did not think much about it.

    Well, apparently on Monday, Matt was getting ready for work and a cockroach happened to catch his eye scurrying in the shower. He said that he went out to get a shoe to smash it, so I wouldn’t have to see it. By the time he got back, the cockroach couldn’t be seen. Then he noticed feelers coming from a small gap between the bottom of the shower floor and the aluminum frame from the shower doors. He decided he better flush this cockroach out so I would not be surprised when I woke up. During the time he was trying to get the cockroach out, he noticed a second pair of feelers a little ways down. He said his thinking was along the lines of “Oh great, now there are two of them”. As he proceeded to put a putty knife in this small gap, he killed the first cockroach, then went for the second, neither of which he could see. The second turned out not to be a cockroach, but another of New Mexico’s “fun” bugs, a vingegaroon.  He killed both for me and then ran out to get to work on time.  I am not sure how I was able to sleep through all the drama, but I am sure glad I did.

    So now I am sure your burning question is what is a vinegaroon? It is an ugly bug, but not dangerous. They are called vinegaroons because they can spray 85% concentrated acetic acid/vinegar so they smell like vinegar. They do not sting, despite their appearance, and while they can deliver a painful bite, this is very rare unless provoked. If they are outside, we do not kill them because they are a bug that eats other bugs. In my shower, on the other hand, they are fair game.

This is a picture of the vinegaroon. Definitely something I do not want to encounter in my shower!