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Dawn Cribbs

Dawn of a New Day

Opinion

Dealing with minor irritants

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

I spent a recent lunch hour scouring the shelves of a local discount store with murder on my mind.

Our Boo Boo kitty has apparently rented out space to a local family of fleas and they are prolific reproducers. He's miserable, and so am I. He is frequently stopped in his tracks to do battle against their feasting and I am afflicted with itchy ankles. Apparently, Danny has a natural immunity.

Once I selected the most potent weapons available, I went directly home and spent the rest of my lunch applying the noxious poisons in the recommended manner. I hope they are as effective as the labels promise.

What possible purpose can fleas have in the grand scheme of things? For that matter, what possible purpose do mosquitoes have? (They were the first "biters" I blamed when my ankles started itching. No apology for the misidentification will be forthcoming. What with West Nile virus and that annoying whine mosquitoes emit, they'll not get any good press here.)

Irritants. They're all around us and sometimes threaten to overwhelm us. Between the House, the Senate and the Executive Branch, I've had my fill of budget talk. If they are serious about reducing the deficit and balancing the budget, I'd be happy to open our household books and show them how it's done. (I'm afraid mac and cheese is so rarely served in their world, however, that it would be welcomed as a delicacy and they'd miss the point. Again.) Be that as it may, I'm sure I could easily survive in their world - I don't think they'd last a week in mine.

The latest scandal, involving News Corp, is just sad and reflects poorly on every member of the Fourth Estate. I'm not sure which came first, the population's hunger for scandal or the tabloid press, but fortunes have certainly been made, apparently at the expense of common decency. Don Henley had it right with his hit single "Dirty Laundry" released in 1982. (If I had known the need for dirty laundry was so great, I'd have offered unfettered access to my laundry room in the basement years ago.)

Each trip to the local grocer inspires another irritant as prices continue to rise. I'm not irritated with the grocer or even the free market system that drives prices. Those same irritants mentioned in the budget paragraph come into play again. Inflation is just one more symptom of a broken system they either can't or won't fix.

I'm going to give the irritants the week off, starting Monday. I'm checking out. It's time for our Colorado granddaughters to come and spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa. Television news? Banned. Newspapers? They'll just have to go to press without me. (I'm not giving up on radio just yet. In fact, the girls will get a field trip next Wednesday to see a radio show under production. Bet they don't get to do that in the big city.)

Not only that, they'll be here for fair week in Red Willow County and we're going to show our city girls how country gets it done. They're even going to help get cows ready for the beef show and help groom pigs. We'll take in the rodeo and walk the Midway after sunset. I'll bet I can talk them into trying funnel cake and kettle corn, too.

Apart from that, we'll pick up where we left off last year. We won't set an alarm clock, nor etch a schedule in stone. We'll let our conversations wind down lazy lanes. I'll answer every question with gentle honesty and for one sweet, sweet week, I will rest in the wonder of their innocence and do all I can to protect it.

It's good to step back every once in a while. Take stock. Reflect on what has come before and what lies ahead. In today's fast paced, get it done yesterday world, taking a bona fide vacation, even a "staycation," is hard to do. I'd be happy to give lessons, anytime after Aug. 1.

"...from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children --" Psalm 103:17 (NIV)

I don't have all the answers, but I know the One who does. Let's walk together for awhile and discover Him; together.

Dawn

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  • Dawn

    It really bothers me when "good christians" question the need for all the other life on this planet that has caused you a slight irritation,and they go out and buy toxic chemicals to eliminate them. And these chemicals are indiscriminant killers that harm every thing around them. Including YOU!

    They are all gods creation and they all have a purpose. I could give you a clue as to why they exist but you wouldnt like my insight!

    That said, go to the local garden store and buy Diatomaceous Earth. It is an all natural, non toxic powder that dessicates soft bodied insects like fleas. (You dont want to breathe it while it settles). It will get in your carpet,knooks and cranys where the fleas live and will work for a very long time.

    It is a fine powder and you will have to deal with a dusty house for a few days but it is long lasting and will take care of the fleas.

    I used it twice 15 years ago and I have NOT had any fleas in my house since. I have even read where it will work on bed bugs too.

    Better for you, better for the cats , better for the enviroment. It is inexpensive too.

    Peace

    Karen

    -- Posted by kaygee on Wed, Jul 20, 2011, at 6:34 PM

  • So kaygee, why did YOU choose to kill the fleas?

    Dawn, more than likely you have cat fleas. They prefer to stay on the host, or in the hosts bedding. A quality veterinarian will know what to do. Also, today's modern insecticides, ones used within a dwelling, when applied by a professional, pose a very, very slight risk of exposure to non-target organisms. And unlike diatomaceous earth, they pose no inhalation hazard. Yes they will kill all insects.

    -- Posted by Hugh Jassle on Tue, Jul 26, 2011, at 8:37 PM
  • *

    CPB,

    You are just saying that because Fleas are not christian. It is a well known fact that fleas follow a pantheistic religion worshiping the great moving mountains from which they gain sustanence. Shame on you for your religious intolerance!!!

    If you have any other questions about the religions of arthropods, I'm yer go to guy.

    -- Posted by Sir Didymus on Wed, Jul 27, 2011, at 2:38 AM

  • Yes Sir Didymus, the flea perfectly represents pantheistic thought. As opposed to Christian doctrine, which is making the lives of others easier by making mine a little harder, the pantheistic thinking of the flea is making my life easier by making others harder. The flea, with it's pantheistic thinking, cannot see the suffering others are enduring, as it is only concerned with it's own suffering. The Christian on the other hand, can only see the suffering of others and jump into action to help.

    The flea is on no use to its life sustaining host. It clings on for dear life, lays eggs, and sucks the blood. It does nothing beneficial in return, other than a vector for disease. So yes Sir Didymus, this is the perfect example of pantheism.

    -- Posted by Hugh Jassle on Wed, Jul 27, 2011, at 5:40 PM
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