Reading is good for you!

I brought a lot of books to Ghana and have one going most of the time. I read mostly in the evening before I go to sleep - and when I finish with my book I toss it in the drawer of my nightstand to keep my room tidy and to keep the book clean (more on the dirty winds off the Sahara in a later post).

Last night, I had turned on the bedside light and turned off the overhead light, climbed into bed, and opened the drawer of my nightstand. I pulled out my book and in the dim light, saw something in the drawer that was dark and inert where the book had been. I couldn't identify it, as I had already removed my glasses and it was back just far enough to still be in the shadow cast by the edge of the table. Thinking it was a dust bunny, I gave it a little flick with my finger to move it into the light and have a closer look. That's when I saw this.

Apparently, the previous night when I tossed my book in the drawer, it landed on this guy, who measures 3cm (that's 1-¼" to some of you) in his curled up death pose. He was probably closer to 2" in life, with legs extended and scuttling about, which gives me the willies so close to my bed.

If you don't believe me, get out your headphones and look at the size of the jack,

then look at these photos again.

He seems to have lost a leg when I flicked him (see upper left in third photo), so I guess the book squashed him (sorry Sandy!) and he was a bit stuck to the bottom of the drawer.

So, this just proves, reading really is good for you!

XO