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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Huckleberries: Sometimes that tickle in inner ear means Ceti eels are near

Huckleberries Tuesday:

David Keyes was thinking about Ceti eels as he mowed his lawn Thursday evening – you know, that mythical creature of torture that was introduced to movie lovers in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

In a Facebook post, the Sandpoint newsman described the fictional Ceti eel as “a brain-sucking earwig on steroids.” In the 1982 sci-fi picture, Khan Noonien Singh implanted a Ceti eel into Pavel Chekov’s ear with the intention of eventually killing him. But Chekov survived. So did David, who had a close encounter with distant cousins of the Ceti eel after he put on a pair of sound-dampening earphones and fired up his mower.

David had made a quick lap around his lawn when he felt movement in his right ear. At first, he shrugged it off. But he ripped off the earphones moments later when he felt more movement. Then, he saw “what looked like a family of mutant millipedes in the ear piece around the cushion.” Worse yet, David could still feel something going on deep in his ear canal. Which prompted a dance. And some hand-to-head banging. Two of the critters tumbled out. He pulled another out with his index finger. After suffering a case of goosebumps, David finished mowing the lawn.

Moral of this story? That occasional tickle in your inner ear probably isn’t anything. But it might be. Full column here.

Question: Which mythical creature gives you goosebumps?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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