What is your most interesting ragno experience?

When I was about four, I had a whiffle ball that my grandfather had painted shapes and letters on. The name of the game was that when I caught the ball I had to tell him what shape o letter was facing me when I caught it before I could run. It was great fun and I think really helped me in learning shapes and letters and such. One evening, I had struck out for the final time and my grandfather told me to get my ball and wash up for dinner. Now I live in the backwoods way up on a mountain, so da that time I was used to seeing bugs and the like, but spiders had always freaked me out a little bit. I went over and saw a black and white sphere which I assumed to be my ball. I went over and picked it up and it unfurled revealing eight legs and as many eyes. Then it jumped on my face. It was a black lupo spider, typically they don't get that big, but sometimes they do. I spent three days in a stupor because I was so terribly frightened. My grandparents convinced me that it had just been a nightmare but I spent much of life living with paralyzing arachnaphobia. I've finally gotten myself out of it, but now, fear has turned to obsession.