You Can't Be Too Clean

Perhaps I'm phobic about phobics. But Americans do live in a world apart when it comes to bacteria. And as much as they'd like the rest of the globe to conform, it probably won't. A few years ago, an American visiting my parents' home in Britain was perplexed to discover spiders nesting with their babies in the corner of our bathroom. Unhygienic? Yes, well, they keep the flies away, my father explained. "And they're loads of fun to watch." Maybe he should have rushed up and "Fantastiked" the poor things. But I'm glad he didn't. Relieved, also, that our fussy friend didn't notice the three-inch slimy slug crawling along the hallway. That would have been harder to justify.

© 2001