Public Enemy #1

Well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to write this post so soon. I was thinking I wouldn't run into Public Enemy #1 until at least our 3rd year....possibly 4th. But unfortunately the sighting has come A LOT sooner, actually within our first month here. Not many people warned me about these, in fact only one....Emilee Walker (thanks Em, but you didn't give me good enough warning.....I was thinking it would be a big worm with lots of legs...boy, was I wrong). I had read about them in our book...."Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed." (Thanks again Liz), and here is exactly what Mr. Doughty wrote about them, “The worst are the centipedes. They can get to be six or more inches long and are aggressive predators. They shouldn’t be messed with. If you get stung, even by a baby, the pain can range from a bad bee sting to a bad gunshot wound. Some local doctors say the only cure is to stay drunk for three days. Others say to use meat tenderizers.” Either Hawaii's health care is very primitive or these monsters really mean business. So far, this book has been dead on about everything, so I was trying to do everything I could to prevent the run-in.
Monday afternoon when I was in the middle of a lovely ichat with my parents, Cody yelled for me to come out to yard where a bunch of chickens were making a commotion. Once they all scattered we saw what the commotion was all about. Believe it or not, the chickens were attempting to eat this....maybe the chickens aren't so bad after all?
These pictures won't do it justice.....just think of the scariest thing you can possibly think of,...and that's it. Its body and color reminds me of a scorpion, but worse.

(sorry I'm always comparing stuff to writing utensils, that's pretty much all we have right now)
I guess Cody didn't take the books' advice when it said "They shouldn't be messed with." He tied a piece of jute around it and brought it inside for my parents to see. (He said it was "mostly dead"...but still, in our house??)
I am scared to death of these SOB's. I've lost sleep, dreamt about them, and have even considered carrying a flash light with me to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I am even scared writing about them, I'm afraid it might jinx me or something, and they will all know I'm talking about them. I can promise you one thing, if I ever see one of these in my house I will move, if not back to Salt Lake, at least to a new house.