Cockroaches are People Too

I checked out this book from the new releases in the library by Marion Copeland called Cockroach. It's a nonfictional account of the cockroach--its history, the reasons for the species survival, its place in literature, why it has a bad rap, etc. The book contains numerous great illustrations, both painting and photographs. I have been reading it while on the bike at the gym and even though I am starting to empathize more with the roach, I find myself feeling itchy while reading, like little buggy-bugs are scampering up the back of my neck. What is it with the general ick about these bugs? They don't bite, they don't sting, they're not strictly carnivores or even predators of any kind, they don't behave badly to one another, they don't carry diseases, and they don't like people and will run away (can speed off into corners at a rate equivalent to a person running 90 m.p.h.). People like me who have lived in Florida have more reason to ick-out at cockroaches because they are huge there and they FLY. Sometimes, they get confused and fly at you instead of away from you. I've had one fall down my shirt while I was out riding my bike to school once--it dropped out of a palm tree and down my blouse. Needless to say, I toppled over. I also had one crawl across my face in the middle of the night and then scamper under my pillow (they eat hair). But still, I don't feel the same way about spiders or crickets. I don't mind spiders that much and they do bite and can even be deadly. But cockroaches are just...There's nothing cute about a cockroach. Maybe if they were a different color? Less oily? Less leggy?

I signed up for a novel writing class this weekend; this non credit course that meets on Mondays from 7:30-9:30. Doesn't start until the end of January, and I'm still hoping that the playwriting grad class goes, but there remain only 3 of us registered. I thought the other day that it would be fun to have a narrator who taught urban legends at a university. Stephanie has been reading my book and she said she hated "Snowball" because it was so sad and made her cry. I take that as a compliment. Let us write a novel together, everyone.