Most folks probably don’t think a lot about insect stings until it happens to them or someone else. I’m the same way. I steer clear of them and most the time we get along swimmingly. Sometimes we don’t.
My niece, Mel, alerted us last night via Facebook that she had visited the ER for an allergic reaction to some kind of sting. Only a short time before that I was struck by a hornet. I think it happened putting on a pair of shorts. It fell out of my shorts, anyway. I immediately smashed that stinging f**k in a kind of primeval reaction. I suppose it was more of a reaction from its attack on me than anything. It hurt, a bit. Mel said she knew of five other people who had been stung that day. Of course, this wasn’t all in one place, maybe at most a 60-mile radius.
If you take time to read this, I didn’t, you might find out why late summer is a prime time for being stung by stinging thingers. I think it has to do with the sex life of insects, which, I am just not into. You know, “He’s Just Not That Much Into Your Sex Life If You Are a Hornet.”
Mel has to carry an epi pen now in case of an allergic reaction. I kind of worry about allergic freak outs. I’ve never had one but I’ve had allergies, and I have had unknown allergies that made my upper lip swell, twice in fact. The first thing I did after getting stung, other than crushing that poor little hornet and loosing a couple of new expletives I’ve not heard, was to take a couple of Benadryl. I am not recommending it unless your doctor says it’s okay, but it’s a great antihistamine in case of a serious allergic reaction. And if you have such a reaction, call an ambulance ASAP no matter what.
I also did the ice thing. Ice for awhile. No ice for awhile. My upper thigh is still somewhat reddened, itching and the point of impact is still sitting there looking like mutated fire ant sting. Having a bit of the Type II diabetes. Oh, yeah, I forgot my little toe doesn’t look good at all, Anyway, just so you know, there are all kinds of stinging critters out there and I have been stung, bit, chomped on and everything except hit upside the head with a .22 like I mentioned my friend Tere did to an alligator once.
Speaking of gators, many Southeast Texans are no doubt rejoicing that the popular (locally at least) “Gator 9-1-1” will return to TV. It is based here in Beaumont, Texas, and features folks who own a local gator preserve and cafe (for the gators who don’t mind their Ps and Qs.) Seriously, from what I can see on the show and have read about Gator Country, those folks do a good job of catching nuisance gators — and there are a few around here. The Gator Country people also appear to do a great job educating the public on gators and their place in the World out there, even if they cook the gators, hey, sounds okay to me!
I don’t know how I got from hornets to gators but I did. I wish a happy weekend to all and to all, a good wasp-eating alligator!
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