I know of only one thing that can bring people of different ages, cultures, creeds, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, political affiliations and bloggers together: hatred of the blood sucking mosquito. Just the thought of the word mosquito can conjure up malevolence from missionaries, cursing from clergy and vengeance on the vermin from vegans. Whenever the "M" word is mentioned I cringe and shivers shoot up my spine. It also brings about discussion on my blog. In fact, "oefvet" presented interesting facts and suggested that it would be a way to "improve Missouri's death penalty." For more interesting tidbits on mosquitoes go to http://www.scmac.org/Mosquito_trivia.htm.

The ubiquitous pests are obviously attracted to this area because of our humid air and plentiful stagnant water: rice fields, floodway ditches etc. Many people in Kennett decide that summer has arrived when school's out for summer (sounds like an Alice Cooper song), baseball or swim team begins, the temperature tops 90° F or you see Coach Bart McAtee at the Tropical Snow stand; but not me. I know it is summer because every time I have an itch, instead of scratching it, I swat myself. No, not because I'm some masochist, but because I just assume there is a mosquito (there go the shivers) preparing to bite into my flesh and suck me drier than a California raison.

My dear friend and trumpet playing bird, Rowdy the Redhawk- a.k.a. Brooke Privett, is allergic to mosquito bites, sometimes leaving red areas on her arms as large in diameter as a softball. In fact, at the annual fireworks display, not only did she have to wear her long sleeves, pants and socks, she also had on her patriotic hat with a mosquito net that covered her entire head and used plenty of Deet (because you can't beat the Deet). So if you see Brooke tell yourself, "Self, It could be worse."

Now on a serious note, we know how much of a nuisance mosquitoes can be. Mosquitoes are a vector agent that carries disease-causing viruses and parasites from person to person without catching the disease themselves, including malaria. Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria, meaning well over a million children die from this disease. In some countries, four out of seven children die from malaria. Ninety percent of deaths caused by malaria occur in Africa, making it the largest cause of death in Africa and the mosquito the most deadly animal. Malaria infects nearly 500 million people each year and the children who survive often experience health complications. The people of The United Methodist Church, along with Sports Illustrated, NBA Cares, the United Nations Foundation and several other groups, have formed an organization called "Nothing But Nets" to raise funds to purchase bed nets to end malaria. The bed nets stop mosquitoes from biting during the night and spreading the disease, and the insecticide on the net kills mosquitoes when they land on it. Each bed net can potentially save many lives. If you are interested in donating or want more information go to http://www.umc.org/site/lookup.asp?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b....

Keep swatting and keep on blogging!

Possible Discussion Questions