Papa Midnight the Scorpion

At dusk on on 11/14/07 (sun in Scorpio !)I left work for the evening. As I approached my car door, I caught a glimpse of something small and dark moving near the curb. I looked closer and saw a ...small shiny black ... lobster ? Just as I began to ask myself what a diminutive crustacean was doing in our parking lot, I realized it was a Scorpion !

I ran back inside the office to tell my co-workers to come out and have a look - after all, this is hardly an everyday occurance. I began to realize this was a mistake when one of the guys appeared brandishing a long stick - presumably a "poking device" to save me (neither a damsel, nor in distress, nor wanting any harm to come to our unusual visitor.) Before leaving, I admonished them repeatedly to enjoy the sight, and simply let the creature be on his way.

The next morning, I found out that they'd captured him with a pair of lab tongs. The unfortunate creature had been placed unceremoniously in an empty hot sauce jar (sambal oleek, to be precise - which has a sting on par with a scorpion's - ironic, huh ?) , the lid punctured with air holes. There he sat, his tail bent upwards uncomfortably inside the upright jar. The first thing I did was lay it on its side so he could stretch out, then castigated my co-workers for interfering with him.

I spent that morning on the internet trying to find entomologists, dealers or hobbyists in Los Angeles who would come and claim him, since they were debating about squashing him !
To make a long story short, I found a great site, www.arachnoboards.com and posted a "free to good home" notice regarding my little friend.

I am relieved to report that a local scorpion fancier named Ed came to our office and took him home, where he is now a cherished pet. Before he left, we all had the opportunity to handle Papa Midnight briefly and take some wonderful photos. The best part of this happy ending was seeing 3 men become suddenly curious and more compassionate towards a living creature - a strange, "non-cuddly" and oft-maligned one at that - that they had been cavalierly considering killing the day before.

While he undoubtedly would prefer freedom, he is a breed imported from Asia for the pet trade and a non-native specie. Giving him a good home was therefore most humane option to pursue.

I would insert a cautionary note that while Ed identified the scorpion as a meek, non-deadly type (hence its popularity as a pet) if you find a scorpion and do not know how handle one - give it a wide berth and leave it alone ! We were fortunate that none of my foolish coworkers were stung (although they deserve it) that it turned out to be relatively harmless, and did not seem to bear a grudge for the shitty treatment it had endured the past day.

Thank You Scorpion, for bringing us your medicine of transmutation and rebirth...