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September 15, 2008

Insects, insecticides, and a bit of mercury.



Since several tropical depressions came and dumped tons of rain here in sunny Florida we are having a horrible mosquito problem. I am sure it is not a problem for the frogs, birds and anything else that eats mosquito's but it is a problem for moi.


In general, any mosquito within a 10 mile radius of me will come to drink some of my sweet nectar.
Apparently something in my blood makes them want me. I don't know what it could be.....all the salad I eat? The wine I drink?
Who knows, but I am not safe lately.


They hover around the doors waiting for me.



Someone told me that the county is going to start "spraying" for mosquito's.
That would be ok, and it made me think of something that we used to do as kids.


A mosquito truck would slowly drive through our neighborhood on occasion and spray pesticides out the back of the truck.



All the neighborhood kids would run outside and follow the truck.

This is what kids did when they did not have computers or phones. (or a brain apparently)


Yes, we would run through the fog, directly inhaling DDT. I can still smell it.
You would have thought we were chasing the Ice Cream truck.


Smart right? This could be the reason why I never grew past 5'2?
Or possibly the fact that I can only retain basic math skills?

Where was my Mother?

A few years later I remember breaking open a thermometer and playing with the mercury.
I have no idea how I learned that this would be interesting...perhaps in science class.
I am lucky I did not grow a 3rd arm.
Anyone else play with dangerous toxins as a kid and live to tell the tale?

12 comments:

  1. Suz, that is hilarious!! We used to do exactly the same thing!! It's a wonder we all survived past childhood, isn't it? No bike helmets, lead paint on our cribs, no car seats or seatbelts, I could go on and on!! I think that's what made our generation so much stronger than these kids today, don't ya think?

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  2. What is wrong with you? Did you also drink the poison from under the sink??

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  3. Dawn, Yes. I thought it was kool aid.

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  4. Oh lord, we did all of the above. Add to that that all of us ate an entire bottle of the St Joseph's aspirin that had the orange flavor :)

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  5. Amanda, I loved the taste of the St. Josephs baby aspirin. I remember my Mom freaking out when I ate about 10 of them.
    I needed something sweet. :0

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  6. Oh my gosh! I can't believe you followed the chemical truck : ). I am sure it was a fun time. My town didn't have a spray truck, but if it did, I am sure I would have chased it too.

    We had a 6th grade teacher named Mr. Frasier and he broke open a thermometer and held the mercury in his hand. He was jiggling it around and screaming at us never to do it. He was wierd : ).

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  7. We didn't have the DDT truck, but I do remember breaking open a thermometer just as you did.

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  8. Omigod, is that why I'm only 5'2 also? Oh man.

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  9. I LOVE the St. Joseph baby aspirin! How did we ever survive our childhoods? I would ride my bike 2 miles into town and back with no helmet and sometimes ride home during dusk. I didn't have a cell phone, so some crazed maniac could have kidnapped me a hundred times over during the day because I never had to check in with anyone.
    The only chemical incident I can think of...besides eating lots of Twinkies and Ho Ho's....was spraying beans every summer...I guess it probaly wasn't so good that we squirted each other with the weed killer??!!

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  10. OHMYGOSH - are you all NUTS????
    Dang.

    I never did anything weird with chemicals but electricity always fascinated me. I remember taking a paper clip, making it straight and sticking it into a socket to see what would happen. Guess what? A blue spark came out and shocked the crap out of me! But did I learn my lesson? Oh no.... I tried several other "tricks with electricity"... come to think of it, maybe that's how I got all this curly hair....
    :-)

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  11. And yes, I LOVED the orange St Joseph's baby aspirin.

    When I had my first job (at the Dairy Queen in Tucker, GA), we girls and I would create "concoctions"... and there was one we created that tasted just like baby aspirin.... vanilla soft serve with orange "mister misty" mix, and something else. (It was delicious.... ah, memories...)

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  12. today in my medical sociology class someone started talking about running behind the trucks spraying the pesticides & also playing w/ mercury... i immediately thought of you and laughed to myself! i even wrote a lil note on my planner so i'd remember to let you know!! :)

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