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The Giant Moth

Edited to add: I think the reason it has stayed with me all these years is the guilt. The guilt that I didn't do anything. I remember it looked right into my eyes as it tumbled by and I could see that it was in trouble but I honestly had no idea what to do about it. I had a couple of brother who would have done unspeakable things to it all in the name of fun. I know it was best that I kept it to myself.
I am sure you couldn't have done anything to help the moth anyway, much as you might have wanted to. Their wings don't grow back and without being able to fly it wouldn't have been able to go about its business of mothing. And you wouldn't have known what to feed it. It's horrible to feel helpless though but sometimes you just are.
 
Of course.

I think I was trying to encourage michael59 to have empathy for himself as a child. There aren't football-sized-bodied moths that look you in the eye as they bounce down the road. Not literally. Even on the fortean forums we can agree on that? (Perhaps we can't). I'm not saying he didn't experience a football-sized-bodied moth and its pain and anguish as it bounced down the road. However the experience came about (conflation of two things, misperception, exaggeration in memory, I don't know). If his child-self felt so terrible about it that he can remember it 50 years later, I just meant that he should think kindly on his younger self. He was helpless in the face of the cruelty of life (and potentially the cruelty of his brother) and whatever the experience was, it had a long-lasting impact on him. You'd want to give the lad a hug, not make him feel guilty for his non-intervention.

That's all I meant. Not "don't be so stupid" - sorry if it came across that way.
 
" Toronto had been infested overnight. They were around for quite awhile. The summer before that Toronto had been infested with June bugs. Before that it had been gigantic bull frogs.
The last infestation I witness there before I moved out of province was flying ants"

Good Ghod! Are you sure you were living in Toronto? That sounds more like the plagues of Egypt!:)
 
" Toronto had been infested overnight. They were around for quite awhile. The summer before that Toronto had been infested with June bugs. Before that it had been gigantic bull frogs.
The last infestation I witness there before I moved out of province was flying ants"

Good Ghod! Are you sure you were living in Toronto? That sounds more like the plagues of Egypt!:)

Nope, just Toronto. And that all took place before I turned 14.

Ya know what I remember most? It was the stench in the air after a rainstorm and all I could smell were earthworms. Most people talk about how fresh it smells after a rainstorm. Not that way in Toronto. Smells a lot like wet dog. :yuck:
 
"Smells a lot like wet dog".
Now there's a line just begging for a snappy comeback. Snappy people may apply.

As for the rest, well, if the water turns red or we get burning hail, (or giant moths) I'm outa here.o_O
 
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I saw a Luna moth fastened to the outside of my window many years back. In my memory it had a wingspan of about 6” though that might have become exaggerated over time. Very colorful, bright green.

On the subject of infestations, when I was very young and living in Pittsburgh there was an infestation of tent caterpillars. It was incredibly horrifying. The trees were full of their nests and they ate ALL of the foliage for miles. The trees were nude of leaves in the height of summer. They covered the ground to the point that you couldn’t walk outside without squishing them and they had blue-green blood. They dropped into your hair and down your collar. To this day whenever I see a nest of them in my yard I BURN IT IMMEDIATELY!!
 
I saw a Luna moth fastened to the outside of my window many years back. In my memory it had a wingspan of about 6” though that might have become exaggerated over time. Very colorful, bright green.

On the subject of infestations, when I was very young and living in Pittsburgh there was an infestation of tent caterpillars. It was incredibly horrifying. The trees were full of their nests and they ate ALL of the foliage for miles. The trees were nude of leaves in the height of summer. They covered the ground to the point that you couldn’t walk outside without squishing them and they had blue-green blood. They dropped into your hair and down your collar. To this day whenever I see a nest of them in my yard I BURN IT IMMEDIATELY!!

We had that one summer here in Edmonton, AB. It was so gross. Cars were sliding because of the amount of caterpillars on the roads.
 
So after reading this thread and others I took a stroll along the lane at the back of my house. “What do you know about moths?” asked my neighbour as she pooped her head up from where she was knelt down gardening...
 
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