Tourists and Chiggers

There are two annoying creatures that invade my little corner of the world during the summer months – tourists and chiggers. According to the dictionary, a chigger is a 6-legged mite larva that sucks the blood of vertebrates and causes intense irritation. This also describes my ex-wife, except she only has two legs. A harvest mite is one of 30,000 species of mites. It passes through four stages -- egg, larva, nymph and adult. In the larva stage, it is commonly known as a chigger. Chiggers are prevalent throughout the southern part of the United States, particularly within a hundred yards of where I call home. They are so tiny I’ve never actually seen one but I have ample evidence they're keeping tabs on me at all times. Much like my ex-wife, chiggers prefer shade and moist areas. Chiggers live where they are protected by vegetation, such as around shrubs, plants, grass, mulch and overgrown wild areas. My ex-wife lives in Missouri, where she is protected by her latest husband, two neurotic cats and a can of mace. During the winter months, chiggers hang out a few inches below the surface, mostly discussing politics and their plans for the summer. In the spring, the adults emerge to lay eggs. Shortly thereafter, the eggs hatch into the larva stage to officially become chiggers. That’s when the fun begins. Chiggers can detect movement and have the ability to sense a food source from a great distance. Unlike most other mites, they're able to move rapidly and travel a long way to forage for food. Chiggers have a voracious appetite for flesh, especially the human variety. They'll crawl all over a person seeking a spot with a tight fit, such as under the socks or under a waistband. At 1/120 inch in diameter, they're even able to squeeze through the mesh of most fabrics. Once a chigger has found its way to the dinner table, it will puncture the skin, inject saliva and liquefy the flesh, enabling it to suck its meal. The injected saliva also contains a substance that prevents the blood from clotting and temporarily anesthetizes the area so it won’t be detected until after the meal is finished. After dining on the flesh, the chigger drops off the host. Later, the host will be left with a red bump, created by digestive fluids, which will cause a very intense itch. For the chigger, long since gone by now, a short period of development follows where the larva molts into a non-parasitic nymph that will soon mature to the adult stage. The entire life cycle takes only 50-70 days. Like everything else on earth, chiggers serve a purpose. They make us introspective and humble knowing we’re nothing more than a dinner platter for another living creature in nature's food chain. On the positive side, they keep those pesky tourists from moving down here and spoiling the ambiance. The worst thing about being a tourist is being recognized as a tourist. They're a lot like chiggers -- they make me itch long after they're gone. ___________ Quote for the Day – "I quit flying years ago -- I don't want to die with tourists." Billy Bob Thornton ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where chiggers enjoy the ambiance. ___________ - -

Confronting a Bully

When I was seven years old, I found myself under the constant attack of a neighborhood bully who was two years older and twice my size. One day he pushed me too far and I punched him in the nose -- nailed him real good. My next course of action was to make a swift retreat back to my house. Several hours later, the bully’s mother showed up at our front door. My mother, who is part bobcat and doesn't take any crap from anyone, answered the door while I lingered nearby, safely out of sight. The bully’s mother handed my mother a fresh blueberry pie, intended for me, and told my mother that anytime I felt compelled to hit her son it was just fine with her. From that day on, I never had any trouble with the bully again. I suspect I had gained an ounce of respect from him because I stood up to him. But it was a hollow victory because he just went on to bully others, while I went on to encounter the next bully in line. According to the US Department of Education, 18 million kids have reported being bullied by other kids. It’s estimated that 160,000 children skip school daily because of a bully. Statistically, one out of four bullies will be jailed by age thirty. Some of the lifelong consequences of having been a victim of bullying include anxiety, depression and even suicide. Sending your children to government-controlled public schools is like sending the chickens to mingle with the chicken hawks. Most of the teenagers who have gone on shooting sprees in their schools complained that bullies had been picking on them until they couldn’t take it anymore. Kids who join gangs, particularly in big cities, probably do so to protect themselves from the bullying of others. But joining a gang only exacerbates the problem by creating bully gangs instead of bully individuals. Years ago, I lived near a family in Arizona with two teenage boys who vandalized property, harassed neighbors, stole things, tormented teachers and even beat up their mother once. The parents always had an excuse – boys will be boys. It never occurred to the parents that they could be the problem. They preferred to blame the victims for picking on their dear lads. Human behavior is both genetic and environmental. We are born with a certain disposition and are also a product of what we learn along the way. We are products of products, of those who breed and raise us, just as they are products of products too. Sometimes, we even become what we swore we would never be. There’s no doubt that human beings have certain traits at birth. Some babies are mellow and sweet, while others can be described as rambunctious or even devilish. These basic personalities tend to remain throughout a lifetime. Anyone who has raised a litter of puppies understands this concept. Almost invariably, the aggressive puppies remain aggressive and the meek remain meek. The same is true with human beings. I suspect most bullies are the product of either overly-strict parenting or a total lack of parenting. In both cases, the child suffers from a lack of proper control. With overly-strict parents, the child becomes outraged because of the injustice (psychological abuse) perpetrated against them. They strike out at others because they're helpless at home. And they strike out at others because their parents strike out at them, thereby teaching their children that in order to get your way you must overpower or inflict pain on others. With parents who don’t provide even minimal guidance, the child feels unwanted and unloved. Neglected children become heartless adults. Children who are allowed to do anything with impunity expect to do the same as get older. Spoiled children become spoiled adults. Essentially, without positive role-modeling and appropriate discipline, children are programmed to be rotten kids who later become rotten adults. In both cases, these children are victims of their upbringing. Some are able to deal with it and overcome it, while others become victimizers, also known as bullies, and seek revenge for the cruelties that had been perpetrated on them by perpetrating cruelties on others, particularly on the innocent and defenseless. Bullies have always been with us. Dealing with them is no simple matter. If you fight back, you’re attempting to solve a wrong with a wrong and, in most cases, will only get injured. Furthermore, you can turn the other cheek only so many times. Running away is rarely a solution because you're only delaying the inevitable confrontation. And reporting them to higher authorities will almost always backfire. It’s a no-win situation. All bullies are cowards. They're angry at someone or something they cannot overcome so they pick on the weak and delight in upsetting others. They're getting even with the world by hurting someone who can't hurt them back. A victim is incapable of making good come from evil -- don't be a victim. Don’t allow a bully to control your emotions. Be strong, firm and resolute. Don't lower yourself to your adversary's level. Your dignity under duress will be much more powerful than reacting to a jerk who wants you to react. ___________ Quote for the Day – "We boil at different degrees." Clint Eastwood ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 12 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where Bully is the name of rodeo bull that enjoys flinging riders to the turf. ___________ - -