 Cockroaches
It is my understanding that most people really don't like
cockroaches. I think my first experience with Cockroaches came when I
saw Creepshow when I was little. I don't remember knowing what a
cockroach was back then; I just remember there being a bunch of scary,
disgusting bugs. In the years after that, I heard many people on TV and
in movies complain about cockroaches, so it was pretty clear to me that
these things were not to be tolerated. As it turns out, I never saw my
first real-life cockroach until I was 19, crawling in the underground
tunnel connecting dorms. Actually, that was the second one I saw; the
first one I ever saw was about a week before that, and it was dead, so I
didn't really count it. But I knew that what I saw on the ground was a
really revolting little thing.
I can tolerate ants, and bees, and flies, etc but there's something about
cockroaches that is just unnerving. Wait, I can't really tolerate ants.
But I can't put my finger on what makes cockroaches so bad. Is it their
size? Those things can get pretty big. I don't remember ever not
feeling squeamish about a bug that was as big as my thumb. Even harmless
june bugs. I remember a horde of those things crawling all over the
garage, and that was kind of frightening.
So there's the size, but now that I think about it, it is probably their
size combined with their quickness that makes them so unsettling. I have
an infestation of them in my kitchen. They always come out at night.
The big ones always manage to elude me, they're so damn fast. Then there
are little itty bitty ones that are a bit easier to catch. In any case,
I don't like the feeling knowing that they're crawling all around the
crevices that every kitchen has but you never notice.
I don't know how cockroaches affect the ecosystem or food web or
whatever, but I am certainly disturbed by the fact that these things have
been around for millions and millions of years. And it's said that
they'll be around for millions more. I hope that future generations will
somehow be able to conquer these creatures. I just don't like 'em.
Review by Albert Stephanides |
