fear of becoming spiderman.

    Most days I'm sane but occasionally I drift off into a fantasy world where up is down and down is up and nothing makes a lot of sense.  It's on one of those days that I wrote the story below.

    I was sitting in my recliner the other day watching television when I felt a tickling on my arm.  I looked and at once saw a black spider about the size of a dime.  In that instant, it seemed to be shimmering like a half-dead firefly.  But I cannot be sure because I instantly swept it away with my hand.  I jumped out of my seat and looked for the small critter.  It should have been on the carpet but I did not see it.  I moved my chair thinking it might have crawled underneath it.  There was no sign of it.  I shifted the coffee table which was a few feet in front of the chair.  Nothing, nada.  That was disappointing.  I would not feel safe until I had killed it.
I checked my arm to be certain that it had not already bitten me and for some reason, I hadn’t felt it.  I could see no indication that the arachnid had punctured my skin.  That was good.  Though the chance that this spider was like the one that had bitten Peter Parker was astronomical, it was not impossible.
 

     I live outside a small town, not a big city.  This was not the type of environment that a spider person could thrive.
I ran a scenario in my head of what it would be like if I should become another spider man.  It was not good.  To fight crime in the city I would have to drive myself to town.  There are no big buildings from here to there that I could shoot my web to and swing myself forward.  The best I could do would be to try to hit a few trees and hope the branches held.  And probably for half the time, I would even have to walk.  That would be a little embarrassing and it would be hard to hide my identity.
     It wouldn’t be much easier once I reached town.  The courthouse is the largest building in the town, and it is only three stories high.  Furthermore, it sets on a large plot of land that is separated from the retail shops, businesses, and restaurants.  It is too far away for me to swing between the courthouse and the other establishments.
     Swinging through the rest of downtown wouldn’t be much easier.  The buildings down Main street are either single or two-story.  If I tried swinging through town on a web I would likely run into pedestrians or skim across the sidewalks.  Even if I were successfully staying high enough off the ground my journey would only be a matter of minutes.  I would run out of buildings and be out of town. 

     It was unlikely that I would find any high-profile criminals around here anyway.  My biggest fights would likely be with small-time drug dealers or shoplifters.  I do not think it would even be worth making the costume.  Besides,I couldn’t make the costume like the one in the comic books and the movies anyway.  I am sure Marvel or Disney has a trademark or a patent on the suit.
     I can’t sew.  That would be a problem if I needed a suit.  I guess I would have to hire someone and hope they wouldn’t reveal my identity.
     It was after that thought that I checked myself again.  No bite marks.  I searched the area again for the spider.  It seems the creature had disappeared.
   Hopefully, the spider won’t return.  I don’t want to have to move to the big city and fight crime.  I’ve gotten comfortable living in a small town.  Besides, it sounds like too much work.