A Cactus Lesson

Today I learned a very valuable lesson about cacti. Or cactuses. Whatever. I spent the morning with a very nice Realtor driving me around and showing me potential houses in case we do actually (slight shudder) move to Albuquerque. And I want you to know that I just spelled that correctly without using spellcheck. Anyway, of course many of the houses had cactus plants growing in the yard. I don't think I've ever seen a "wild" cactus before, so naturally, I had to touch one. Very, very bad idea. My two fingers were literally stuck to the cactus. I mean, I could not pull them off. At all. The Realtor asked, "Are you ok?" Have you ever had to say this sentence: "No, actually, I'm stuck to a cactus." She said, "What?" I said, "Seriously, I cannot take my hand off this cactus." At least, not without a great deal of pain and bleeding, I was thinking. She suggested I pull my hand really hard. Of course, once I did that I ripped a big chunk off the cactus, destroying years of growth. I can't think of a time recently when I've felt more idiotic. Luckily the Realtor had a pair of gloves in her car so she grabbed the piece of cactus and held tight while I literally ripped my hand off the barbs. It hurt. A. Lot. But I only bled a little!

And now the cactus was stuck to the Realtor's glove. She had to step on it with her shoe to get it off.


So, the lesson is, Don't Touch the Cacti (Cactuses). Ever!