My son and I were intrigued to read about the discovery in recent weeks of a massive spider web at a lake not far from Dallas. It had baffled entymologists as to what kind of spider created this huge, hammock-like web until they realized several species worked together on the weaving project. An unusual finding indeed.
My son, who will be 21 in exactly 12 days (but who's counting?), has always loved spiders, insects and small reptiles. It's a good thing I'm a former tom-boy, because my son liked to keep an aquarium tank on his dresser, full of tiny slithering or crawling critters he'd found in the yard.
One time, he dissected a snake that had died. It was cut in five small parts, and labeled in pseudo-scientific terms.
"Didn't that make you sick to do that?" I had to ask.
"I almost threw up when I got to the head," he admitted.
When he was about 5 years old, we toured an entymology museum while visiting relatives in Missouri. He piped up quickly when a staff member came out to answer our questions.
"Are you a bug man?" he asked, with none of his usual childlike shyness.
"Well, yes, I am!" the entymologist replied, with a bemused grin.
And the two of them promptly began an enthusiastic discussion about Texas fire ants.
It's like that when you find your passion. For me, it wasn't until my senior year in high school that I realized I wanted to be a writer. And it wasn't until a daily newspaper I worked for started a religion section that I really found my career niche.
Writing about what really makes people passionate is such a treat. Getting media review copies of books I'd otherwise long to read is always a delight. And talking the God-talk with theologians and ordinary people of faith is constantly fascinating.
All that, and I get paid to do it, too.
As my son launches into adulthood, he's started pursuing a more grown-up career in pharmacy. But if he thought there was a huge demand for taking apart and studying insects all day, he'd likely be in hog heaven to do just that.
And I think God would smile on his delight with the small things in creation that make most of us shudder.
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