There is a spider that lives in the side view mirror of my car.

The web extends at about a 45-degree angle from the tip of the mirror to the door of the car. This web has several noticeably thicker strands running through it, I assume they are support cables. I have tested the strength of these strands- they are amazing. None of these anchors attach to the window, the handle, or anything else that could possibly be moved a significant amount.

This spider will rest at the center of the web in the nighttime, unless the car begins moving. When the car reaches a speed of around 25 miles an hour, the spider will grab hold of a cluster of strands, and bundle them up. It makes me think of a sailor holding onto rigging during a storm. I admire the spider at this point for its tenacity.

It will hold onto the bundle until I reach a stop sign or light, and then release them, and run as fast as it can into the inside of the side view mirror, behind the reflective glass itself. It used to run all the way inside, but now it waits right on the edge, keeping an eye on its web. Spiders have multiple eyes, but saying "keeping its multiple eyes on the web" pains me.

I think driving the car through the city serves as a sort of butterfly net for the spider - the aerodynamics of the car streamline air away from the windshield, and presumably some of that air is streamed towards the web. With that air comes insects. I don't know if spiders are clever in general, but I know this one is. This spider is fiendish.

I recently read a book that describes the spider's web as an extension of its nervous system - the spider places itself centrally on the web, and can tap into information being fed down the lines. A spider can tell if something lands on its web, if it's trapped, or if it's dangerous, just from the vibration. My spider is not like this. My spider is a fisherman.

I took the car into the dealership for its maintenance check. They washed the car. The web was gone. I assumed that the spider was killed. For some reason, this seems like an injustice. I would have rather lost the car. My spider could not have known about the car wash - the death was unfair. Now I drive only for myself, there is no charity in my travelling. I am not a provider anymore.

Tonight I saw my spider again, putting the finishing touches on its new web. The mesh looks tighter this time, and the support cables seem even more numerous. I am happy, and I pull out of the driveway with a sense of purpose.