they're baaack --

And I am out of here.

There is no causal relationship between those two sentences. Just chronological proximity.

I was chatting with an acquaintance two days ago about my tarantula post (i see you in the night). As often happens here when the topic of creatures is in play, we started straying off into horror tales.

He told me about the scorpion he stepped on with bare feet. I told him about the scorpion I unwittingly carried around in my right shoe for hours (laughing on the wild side).

I am not certain why I did it (I certainly know better), but in a fit of hubris, I announced: "At least, I have not seen any scorpions around the house for months."  I may as well have called Scorpions R Us and ordered a supply.

I have been stung by scorpions only twice. Once in San Miguel de Allende when I picked up a medication bottle with a scorpion resting on the side out of view. And once at my house in Barra de Navidad when I stupidly picked one off of the wall with my bare hand.

I like to think I learned something from both stings. I guess I haven't.

Two days ago, I left my recycle bag of bottles in the patio as a reminder to take them to the collection center. Yesterday I grabbed the bag by the top and the bottom. My hand on the bottom felt something that could easily have been one of the dried leaves from the vines. Without looking, I flicked it off.

It was not a leaf. As you have already guessed, it was a scorpion.

Even after being propelled a good distance, it did not move. For a moment, I thought I was lucky to have encountered a dead scorpion. But, a little prodding had it running for safety in that stretched-out mode that reminds me scorpions are efficient dealers of death.

Even then, he was a bit sluggish. Our nights have been cold enough that the scorpion had treated the recycle bag as a down comforter.

The research material tells me that scorpions love hunting, killing, and eating cockroaches. I have seen that only once when I found a scorpion feasting on a cockroach in the corner of my bedroom. Because they are nocturnal hunters, I miss out on most of the Wild Kingdom moments in my house.

Everywhere I have lived, there have been creatures who can add a bit of discomfort to life. Yellow jackets in the Pacific Northwest are a good example. Black widows in California. A variety of poisonous snakes in Greece.

The trick is to live wisely. I am not certain what that says about me since I have had moments with black widows, yellow jackets, and scorpions.

Today I am taking my what-will-sting-Steve-today show on the road. For a number of reasons, Mom, Darrel, and Christie will not be coming to Mexico this season. So, I am going there.

Christmas is not a very important day on the calendar for us. It was when Darrel and I were kids, but not now. We usually turn it into a second Thanksgiving. No gifts. But great food shared with one another.

This last year a large number of acquaintances died. When we attend memorial services, we always say that it is important to live every day to its fullest. Then, we don't.

To fight that inertia, I am flying north for a few weeks to spend time with the people who know me best. And to fill each day with life.

Undoubtedly, my posting rate will slow down. But there will still be some stories to tell.

I will see you then.