This morning I brought a roly poly to the coffee shop. It was for my friend. I had told her I wanted to bring one to live in one of the planters there. She views them as a children’s introduction to the world of bugs. They’re safe, you know they won’t bite you, they’re not sticky, you can find them everywhere and they roll into balls. They are definitely one of my favorite animals. I met an entomologist at a bar in Santa Cruz once. I asked him about roly polies, telling him that they are one of my favorite animals. He told me that they’re actually crustaceans. I was excited to learn this and be able to talk to an expert about one of my favorite critters, “What else do they do? Tell me more!” He got defensive. “What more do you want from them? They eat dirt and roll into a ball!” So there you have it. A simple little charismatic crustacean, ambassador of tiny crawly things to children everywhere. (or at least a lot of places)
There was something about the interaction; finding my new coffee shop pet, sharing it with my friend. Something that warmed and tickled my heart at the same time. It had at least a similar type of impact on my friend as well, judging from her reaction. I can’t help but think that it changed the rest of my day. It came up in conversations at least four times, once in a discussion with six other people. I had lunch at a restaurant where my friend was working and felt inspired to color with crayons on the children’s menu. I colored in furry woodland critters all multi colored with various polka dots, stripes, and Holstein cow shaped markings; each of them saying some type of greeting, asking her to play, or telling her that they love her. She got a kick out of it. I have to say, I strongly feel that my inspiration largely stems from my earlier interaction with the roly poly. That makes nine people that heard about my roly poly, one of whom got to see it as well, and one person who got art work that was inspired by the mood it put me in. That means at least ten people, eleven including myself, were somehow impacted (mostly in a positive way) by a tiny little crustacean smaller than a pencil eraser (it was small even for a roly poly). A fine ambassador indeed.
What kind of relationships do you have with roly polies? What other relationships or ambassadors does this make you think of? What are some ways they affect you?