Archive for October, 2008

I went to see my chiropractor in a small town close to my house because I have gotten ‘cold foot’ for several months now. It’s not the same as ‘cold feet’ – an English phrase meaning ‘nervous’. For some reason my right foot is always cold; it is a freezing sensation that comes and goes. Surprisingly, it’s because I have begun to have low thyroid. Well, I’ll talk more about this ailment another time.

While I was waiting for my turn to get into a treatment room, I grabbed a magazine and started to read an article called “Animals nobody loves.” It’s one page article so it didn’t take me a long time to finish it. An author mentioned that there were a dozen unloved creatures: Wolves, bats, fleas, mosquitoes, octopuses, rats, snakes spider, vultures, pigs, eels, and coyotes.

‘What good is a rat?’ or ‘What good is a flea?’ seems to be a question that we have in mind because we look at everything from the point of view of what benefits us. Ignorance is the primary reason we react to unloved animals the way we do. Lack of education leads us to fear these animals.

The author defends his dastardly dozen with some surprising statements:
• The wolf is loyal, brave and affectionate.
• The rat is courageous and adaptable.
• Given a spacious sty and some hay to make a nest, the pig is as clean as a cat.
• The vulture eliminates disease and pollution.

He says that the bat has a face “not even a mother could love. With most of the birds asleep, the insect hordes would have their own way through the night if it weren’t for the bat. The evening is better because he’s abroad in the dark.

He even refuses to slap down the pesky mosquito. Let’s think for a moment. Mosquitoes are vital to the life of a pond or stream. They are the link in the food chain from algae to minnows to game fish. Many serve as bacterial traps in stagnant water. Some are even downright beneficial, catching and killing other mosquitoes.

It’s almost 11:30 at night. I should hit the sack.