Jennifer Foreman de Grassi Williams

The Williams Family and MJ the Red Knee Tarantula Jennifer Foreman de Grassi Williams

Book number 9 is about a red knee tarantula we named MJ, for Michael Jordan, because tarantulas are notorious jumpers! Was he docile enough to hold? Would he jump at me, or simply crawl up my hand? Would I panic and try to shake him off of my arm if he started crawling toward my face? Would he escape into our home (like the snakes we rescued) and not be found, or discovered in the dark of the night at the top of my pillow? MJ was a curiosity for everyone who came to see him, and certainly a beautiful guy that taught us so much about the respect all living things deserve, and that they never ask to be taken from the wild. Red knee tarantulas are considered near threatened by climate change, local farming, and the pet trade. In the United States only captive grown spiders are allowed to be sold. As friends were introduced to MJ, the newest rescue at our home, I can hear myself repeating, "Be kind. Be kind."