Noli Me Tangere

My Buddy

I always swore I'd never have a blog that consisted of "this-is-what-i-did-today" entries. But not much else seems to be getting posted these days, so today I proudly give you "Scenes from an Inter-Species Intra-Office Romance", starring yours truly and Gillian the Mediterranean Gecko.

A JP security camera catches Abe and Gillian in a tender embrace.

Abe, infamous for his violent outbursts, is seen here trying to console Gillian after one particularly nasty domestic dispute.

Post-fight kissing and making up. Get a room, you two!

Eventually, Gillian meets the same sad fate that awaits so many other Mediterranean geckos who get involved with men.

~~~

I'm not sure how our friend got in the building, much less how a Mediterranean gecko ended up in Stone Mountain, GA. But there she was this morning, on the lobby carpet, looking a little lost. I chased her around a bit, finally landing my hand on her tail, which prompted her to take off, leaving the tail thrashing under my hand. The ladies in the office were universally thrilled to see this.

It had been a long time since I last handled a lizard, and it reminded me of how much I loved them when I was younger. I'm still fascinated by reptiles. I've never found reptiles to be repulsive (though some argue the converse). Lizards are like pocket dinosaurs, and Geckos in particular are the most amazing athletes. Not only are they lightning fast, but scientists have long sought to understand the adhesive mechanism that enables them to walk upside down on bare glass. As I recall, there have been many theories over the years including tiny suction cups, hooks, even electrostatic attraction. As it turns out, it was some combination of tiny hairs and pads. According to this fascinating article I found when I should have been working, if we could harness their secret to make adhesive, an area the size of a dime could support a 45-lb child. This would probably put the makers of superglue out of business.

Depending on your perspective, this will either make you marvel at God's creativity or the effectiveness of evolution. But either way, it's a bit humbling to see our brightest and best taking taking lessons from little lizards.