Wednesday, June 6, 2007

A Bitey Evening

Mrs. Translator, Babygirl Translator, Girl Translator, and I went for a nice walk this evening. In this case, our travels took us to suburban Colorado, right outside our house. But the subject of this post concerns travelers worldwide: the language of nature.

We often take walks so that I can get my fill of the outdoors – being a biologist, I am always interested in sharing the language of nature with my family. This particular evening, however, one rather nasty bit of nature reared its ugly head and…bit Mrs. Translator. Many times....

Mrs. Translator's Bitey Back.

Who the hell invented mosquitoes? Because that person should be shot. Then hung. Then shot again. Then drawn and quartered. Then thrown in the river. Not just a creek – a raging torrential thing. Then kicked in the nubblies.

A bitey bugger.

Ok, silly question. Again, as a biologist, I know the language of nature is often complex and full of crisscrossing logic and syntax. I know that mosquitoes play their part in the great circle of life, but do they have to be so dang – mosquitoish?

And what’s with certain people being lunch while others (like myself) are lucky enough to remain uneaten? Bite count: Mrs. Translator = 10, Translator = 0. I’m sure there’s a biological explanation, but I’m not inspired enough to look it up. I guess if I was an eatee instead of a non-eatee, I might be more inclined to do so. Any input on this one?

Here are a few facts about our little bitey friends from Wikipedia:

The mosquito genus Anopheles carries the malaria parasite (see Plasmodium). Worldwide, malaria is a leading cause of premature mortality, particularly in children under the age of five, with around 5.3 million deaths annually, according to Center for Disease Control.

Greatest cause of death under the age of five, eh? Tiny little buggers, and yet so deadly. I say we wipe the buggers out. Bring on the deet. Bring on the Chloroquine, the permethrin and citronella in truckloads. Because calomine doesn’t smell very nice and I'm sick of scratching.

Mosquitoes: deadly, bitey, plague-bringers...itty, bitty package. An inscrutable word in the language of nature.

I just don't get it. Can you help me translate?

4 comments:

liam said...

Ouch. It'd be really hard to hang a mosquito, but I guess you could do it. The hardest bit would be the gallows.

Translator said...

Hahahaha...oops. Sorry. Poor writing. By "they", I meant "that person" should be hung. Not the mosquitoes.

I've corrected this poor use of the English language.

And I call myself a "translator". Sheesh.

Thanks for visiting, Liam!

Unknown said...

Hmm... this time your article made me ponder for quite some time. You made me think about all the creation in this world.

Well Mr. Translator, I do believe that every creation in this world has its own role, even if it has so many negative traits but yet - it's sole positive traits is the one which makes the difference.

Let me give one example. For instance, the mice. A mice is a yucky, dirty and ugly creature that almost everybody hates. They destroy our home by munching on all the electrical chords and bring harmful (virus? - not sure on this but sure is a deadly disease).

It's pee-pee (urine) can cause a human's life if absorbed into the skin through an open cut. This is mainly worried upon during huge floods like what had happened in my country early this year.

However, despite all the yucky-yucky stuff the mice brings to us in this (oh-so-cruel-world), yet it has one purpose :

Mice helps us in clearing up waste, because they eat dirty stuff!

It's a wonder how God create creatures, and sometimes a creature is created with so many defects just in order to fulill its sole mission. (like the mice)

Well, Mr. Translator, this is only my opinion on this matter. I like your blog and your contents are all brilliant. I like the way you present your material, it has a power to attract readers like magnet!

Hope you will be more and more successful in the future. Keep up the good job!

Oh, by the way feel free to have a peep on my two blogs. :)

My scary ghost stories:
http://scaryghoststory.blogspot.com

My herbal blog:
http://traditionalherbs.blogspot.com

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to write down my silly oppinion in your space. Thanks again, a million thanks!

Adios.

Translator said...

Hey Miss Cutie:
I agree - every creature has its place. Even the smallest microscopic organism only exists to fulfill its purpose, and it has evolved to do so.

I know that mosquitoes fulfill a purpose. I just wish it didn't include biting my wife!

Ha, ha!

Thanks again for visiting!