Say hello to the striped bark scorpion, Flying Circle’s official mascot. This sole species of scorpion in our area has been a source of extreme personal pain and limitless entertainment. These little critters are very common at our facility in Boerne, TX where the surrounding limestone hills are a perfect habitat.
On more than one occasion, I have picked up a large box of inventory only to lay my hand over the flat body of a scorp. You don’t feel it since they are kind of soft, but when he lines up that stinger and drives it home, you immediately get the feeling that your world has changed.
With time and patience, I have figured out how to wrangle the scorpion. I know it sounds crazy, but I have developed a procedure for handling these devils and not getting stung. One of my favorite pranks growing up was to catch a scorp and very carefully amputate just the tip of the stinger. With the stinger busted, these guys are completely harmless and you can place them just about anywhere for amazing reactions from friends and family. My favorite was to put one on my shoulder and go sit down for dinner. As my dad would grit his teeth together and plead with me to not move a muscle, I would reach toward the scorp, pretending not to know what was on me. Watching the look of horror spread across his face as I would wipe my shirt was always a good laugh.
You wouldn’t be getting the full story if I didn’t tell you about one of our original employees, Juan, A.K.A Chango. He’s been with us for about 30 years and is in charge of our embroidery station. Not only is he a master at embroidery, he is also a bit of a scorp artist.
Here’s an example of Chango’s handywork:
So, that’s our scorpion story. If you have made it this far, you are probably thinking that we are covered up with these things. Don’t worry. They aren’t as plentiful as it sounds. If you come visit us someday, you probably won’t see one (alive) in the building. However, if you really wanted to meet one, I can arrange that pretty quick. Thanks for checking us out and now that you know the story, be sure to pick up one of our embroidered scorpion patches.
Jimmy