Fred
So, Thursday morning I am minding my own business at work, drinking my coffee, when I spot a huge brown and black grasshopper on the top edge of my cube wall. He stayed there for a few hours, then quietly crept down onto the actual wall, where he was perfectly camoflauged against the black and brown pattern. Several people noticed him, and a couple of macho guys offered to “get rid of him” for me, but I decided to just let him be. Live and let live. He wasn’t hurting me, so I just let him hang out.
Much to my surprise, he was still there when I came in Friday morning. So, I reluctantly said hello, was struck with the strong intuition that his name was Fred, and went about my day. About 4pm, I realized he would probably starve to death over the weekend. I thought about taking him outside and releasing him, but I couldn’t figure out how to pick him up without breaking one of his legs. And I thought if I put him in a cup or something and tried to walk him outside, he would probably leap out into someone’s desk and start a riot.
Finally, I did what any rational person would do, and googled “grasshopper care”. Apparently all they need to live is grass or lettuce; no water required. I was out of excuses. I went outside, picked a handful of green grass and put it in the lid to the container I keep my pushpins in, about 6 inches below where Fred was hanging out. Within 10 minutes, he moved with a great sense of purpose down to the container of grass and hopped right in. The rest of the day I could hear him crunching and see him shoveling grass into his little mouth with his pincers.
I am sure he will be gone when I come in on Monday. But, I feel better knowing that he didn’t starve to death at my desk. Many people would see this behavior as eccentricity. I tend to think it’s our responsibility to care for those creatures around us and do what we can to make their lives a little better, even if that creature happens to be a grasshopper named Fred.
