I’m in this beautiful place now, but had a couple of rough nights battling a small army of mosquitoes. The insidious buzzing of these insects in my ear can keep me up for hours. As I hear that high-pitched whiny zzzzzzzzzzz approaching I feel my blood pressure rise and my visceral instinct for destruction take over.
I’m sleeping in the same room as my dad on this vacation so I can’t just turn on the lights and start smacking the walls randomly with magazines like I do when I’m alone. Instead I tried to stealthily use the light from my phone in one hand to view the silhouette of the little beast as it approached, and then nab it with my other hand.
This worked once. I captured her. But then as I opened my head to see if I’d squashed her, she flew out and away, only to come back a few minutes later and find a way to draw blood.
I tried to revert to Zen status and accept the fact that I’d get bites on my shoulders and back. But then I wondered how many bites I might get, so I looked it up.
Oh my God, it’s so complicated!
Another factor may be the mosquito’s search for an accessible vein near the skin surface, much like that of a nurse trying multiple sites to take a blood sample.
I eventually fell asleep, despite several itchy, irritated spots on my skin. Then the next morning after we got back from breakfast I spotted the mosquito on the ceiling in the foyer. I tried to get her but couldn’t reach. Then eventually followed her into the bathroom and closed the door to trap us in there together. After 20 minutes or so, I finally saw her on the overhead light source and squashed her, seeing my own blood seep out of her broken tummy.
I felt good for the moment, but a couple of hours later, I spotted another mosquito in the bathroom and was able track her down not without significant effort.
That night I went to bed content, until I was drifting off and suddenly heard the zzzzzzzzz noise approaching again. And then process began anew.
What’s my point? Yes, I’m procrastinating on my playwriting course. Also… I feel like I could write an entire book about battles with mosquitoes. The Yellow Wallpaper? Bug? Keep this in mind. An entire paranoid nightmare of a book. With at least a smidgen of humor.
Oh! And he’s a photo of Il Duomo di Firenze, an architectural creation by Filippo Brunelleschi that my parents loved when I was growing up. We got up close and personal today. Will check out more tomorrow.
Aren’t you glad you asked?
* This title is a vague reference to The Third Man, which I’ve been hearing a lot about lately for random reasons, not sure why; I’ve never seen it
You’re welcome. Good night.
