Bed bugs, bed bugs, whatcha gonna do...whatcha gonna do when they come for you??

Remember the good ole days?  When you were admitted to the hospital and all you had to worry about was dying from some random, careless act of malpractice?  You know, a cotton gauze sewn into your gut during an emergency surgery that spirals into a fatal infection?  Or a flesh eating nosocomial one from someone neglecting to observe the “sterile environment” rules?  Or the newest antibiotic resistant disease?

Yeah.  Good ole days.  But no more, kiddies.  Now we have something even more insidious to deal with in our local hospitals…

http://bedbugger.com/2010/11/17/milwaukee-hospital-quarantines-suspected-bed-bug-victims-based-on-suspected-bite-marks-alone/

Itchy all of a sudden?  Me, too.  In fact, just typing the words makes me itchy-scratchy all over, and even though I probably wouldn’t die from them I am highly allergic to any buggies that bite me. *scratches arm*

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of dealing with these little bastards, you know that they will be here long after the roaches, rats and Keith Richards float off to the Big Party in the sky.  Oh yes.  Yes, they will.  They will be laughing at those stupid roaches.  Cause even though roaches are rather hardy, they can be squished.  Granted, you may have to use your car to do it (everything's bigger in Texas), at least they crunch. 

Ever try to squish a teeeeeny bed bug?  Impossible is the word that comes to mind.  And they’re the size that can sneak into and hide…well, everywhere.  *scratches leg*

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the little buggars have found their way into hospitals.  I mean, if you travel at all, you put yourself at risk of bringing home a few “souveniers” that will keep the love giving and giving and giving.  But unless you’re getting a fantastic boob job, hospitals aren’t exactly the end all be all vacation, right?  All the same, you’re there, in an environment where many others convene so the risk factor is high.  *scratches knee*

However, when you leave the hospital, I think the only thing you should be bringing home with you is total health (and maybe a med or two).  What. The. Fuck?  *starts scratching all over*

I mean…YUCK.  Yuck, yuck, yuck.  Yuck.  Did I mention yuck?  *scratches buttcheek* 

What is it about bugs that make it worse than any other possible fatal disease?  Creepy crawliness?  Ugh.  Especially those really little ones.  *continues scratching furiously*

Well, I’d love to sit and chat about gross things like this, but perhaps I should go and investigate mattress cracks and crevasses.  (EEEEWWWW…)  I don’t live that far from hospitals.  Don’t work that far from one where those icky things were found.  Creepy-crawly days.  *blech*  Anyway, wish me luck.  *scratches at head*  Hopefully there isn’t anything to see here folks.  *tries to scratch back*  (Not finding bites so hopefully that’s a good sign.)  *scratches bottom of foot*

Shit.  It occurs to me that I’m traveling to my beloved NOLA soon.  Let’s hope that seriously drunken bed bugs get lost on their way to my clothes and suitcase so that they don’t find their way back to my home sweet home.  I’m willing to drink more to take home less.  “Souvs” of that variety?  Who needs those??  *scratches wildly*  I say the food and music alone should be enough for those nasties to stay right were they are.  But just in case, little bedbug, do you really want to party hardy all summer just to freeze come September?  (Yes, I know that the bitter cold doesn’t really come till a bit later, but shhhh…*whispers*  work with me here, people.)

Did I mention yuck?  *double shudder*

A New, Better Prayer

Okay, sometimes when you ask for trouble, you actually get it.  I stupidly forgot about that.  So before we move on to anything else, please call off the smiting, Goddess.  Call. It. Off.  Please?

Here’s the thing…I’m not overly afraid of death (You know that, for the most part, my spirit has never fully integrated in this body anyway) although I guess given the choice, I would prefer to not kick the bucket and give up this human form yet.  What I do know is that I don’t want to see others—innocent or no—be taken out.  So in this whole smiting request thingy, well, somewhere along the line, a few well-worded thoughts from others got me considering things differently.  (Thank you to those with better, kinder, more loving ideas.)  I managed to figure some things out about fear and love.  And smiting, while it seemed like a really good idea at the time, is not such a good idea after all.  That original request for planetary death and destruction?  Yeah, cancel that, please.

Instead, I have a better idea.  A way better idea.  I few small favors that I am sure You won’t mind fulfilling:

Favor number one:  If I am only allowed one request, this is the one I’m most looking to fulfill, okay?  Please, stop the nuclear problems that the Japanese are dealing with right now.  Actually, stop all of the problems they are experiencing.  Please.  The huge earthquake was bad; the ginormous tsunami was horrible.  The continued barrage on this area of the world is over the top.  These people have suffered enough.  Too much, actually.  So if You wouldn’t mind getting those powerful Hands in there, please, stop the issues, particularly the nuclear ones.  Save these people, please.

Favor number two:  Please inspire us human beings to start interacting with each other and our world from a state of love and empathy.  Allow us to see the world from each others’ spaces.  Allow us to release our own victimhood so that we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves, which always results in the attempts to undermine each other.  Let us feel sincere and complete gratitude.  Help us to work together.  Show us that polarization serves no one and that the only way peace can happen is if we all compromise, that there is no weakness in negotiation.  Help us to see that we all gain if we pull each other up and give instead of ripping away from the other—whether we're talking the material, emotional or spiritual.  Bring those who suffer from greed to a new understanding about their wealth; help those with everything realize that their wealth has immense responsibility.  Forgive those who just don’t seem to get that and bring them to the fullest understanding.  Allow us all to see our hypocrisies, but even more, to strive for complete authenticity.  In essence, help us to realize our fullest potential, and to be grateful for it.

Favor number three:  Please continue to love, support and forgive us.  We need Your positive Divine influence, in whatever way it’s best seen by each and every person (even to those who don’t know You—they see Your magic; they just label it differently).  Allow us to see our mistakes clearly.  Inspire us to be better humans.  Allow Your hand to guide this “art project” with more involvement.  (But feel free to let us think it's our idea.  You know how we humans love to think we're the ones in control.)

Okay, I think that does it for now.  I’ll let You know if I think of anything else.  Remember, it’d be really great if You’d be a good Sport and put the kibosh on the smiting thing.  Especially the Japan issue.  We need You to step in on that and stop it super-stat, please.  (I don’t mean to sound pushy-You know how I get, but things are getting to a point where very bad things are happening.  Seriously.)

And please, remember, I am just a stupid human like everyone else.  It may have taken me some time, but I see the error in the thought process of that original request.  *raises right hand and puts left on a wrestling puppy pile* I promise to try to be a better person and to make a stronger effort to have a positive affect on the world around me.  Maybe I’m not deserving, but hopefully You’ll see me worthy enough of forgiveness of my ignorance and arrogance anyway.

Oh, and Lady?  Thank You in advance...

A Simple Prayer

Dear Goddess,

In my most humble manner I ask that You come, now, and hear my prayer, please.

I know You’ve been watching us, but know that I have been, too.

There are too many of us who cannot get along.  We’ve lost our ability to see each other in one another.  We’ve become victims, jealous of what another has, instead of being excited that our brother or sister has more that they can and will share with us.  As victims, we stifle each others voices in the name of greed, not caring if our morals are left on the curb, in order to succeed at our deviousness.  We sadly try to drag each other down instead of joyously pulling each other up.

We allow ourselves to believe that others, who have been equally victimized, are our enemies, instead of holding those who are truly responsible for our pain, who laugh their way to the bank with our monies and our human rights, to be held accountable.  Then we judge those most in need of repentance rather than embracing forgiveness of them.  We allow our fears to fuel our hate, and we allow our hate to justify our actions. 

We allow ourselves to believe that You pick sides, and want US to pick sides, too, when it comes to race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.  We have forgotten that You have created ALL of us and love us most completely, unconditionally, and EQUALLY.

We destroy our planet for the almighty dollar, my Lady.  We do.  We pollute indiscriminately.  We bitch that our gasoline prices are too high, but we do nothing to improve our public transportation.  We do little in the lines of developing more eco-friendly energy sources that would be more appreciative of our beautiful home so that we can allow a select 2% of our entire planet garner all the wealth regardless of the health of our precious Earth.  We don’t shop locally, but have our food shipped in from all over the globe.  Then we allow our food to spoil in our refrigerators while simultaneously our poor go hungry.  We are shamefully wasteful and hypocritical.

We toss our poor and our meek to the curb to live out the cold winters in cardboard boxes or worse while our rich live luxuriously and extravagantly.  We shun our neighbors who have fallen upon hard times instead of offering all that we have to help them.  We think ourselves more important than our brothers and sisters on this planet, dear Goddess. 

We abuse the animals here for food and clothes, and perform abusive scientific studies on them for superficial things like cosmetics.  We glorify those whose main goal is materialism instead of lauding those focusing on relationship development, and not just development with each other as a species but with our fellow beings on this planet. 

Our traditions and honor have slipped into an irreparable state.  We lie.  We lie and we cheat and we steal.  We use our victimhood as our justification for being the vilest and most base of your species.

We hide our heads in the sand even though we see injustice.  We deny these insults exist because we cannot tolerate the personal pain that comes with having to admit if they do that we have a personal responsibility to do something to rectify them, and we find ourselves unwilling or unable to do.  We simply move on with our lives, ignoring someone else has been wronged.  We tell ourselves “if it doesn’t directly affect me, why should I care so much?”  Or “yeah, it affects me, but I’m too busy.”  We’ve forgotten how to say "what can I do?" and “I’m sorry, and I love you” when we've done all we can but it isn't enough.

But You and I know that what is done to one, is done to All.  On some level, I believe we all know that.  We disconnect from each other because it feels safer.  And we—arguably the most fearful, superstitious creatures on the planet—need to feel safe.  Sadly, we’ve just forgotten that all we need do is look to You, and we’ll have all the safety and security we need.

It isn’t just that we’ve lost our way, our behavior has become far worse than that.  We spiraled onto a path toward destruction of all around us.  We have lost our ability to empathize and show simple though profound kindness to one another.  We’ve stopped listening to one another because it isn’t always what we want to hear.  Maybe this fear, hate, and divisiveness have been caused by our disconnection to You, which means to each other as well?  Or maybe it’s just because we’ve all been hardwired in a way that is just a little bit off and needs repair that only You can offer?

I know I haven’t come close to covering all the despicableness that we are, that we have become in the years since our original genesis on this planet.  You see, this request has already become far more complex and lengthy than originally intended.  I sincerely apologize for that.

All I know is this:  I have lost hope and faith in humankind.  And unless, in Your magnificence, You can show me cause to feel otherwise, I have but one humble, simple request that I tearfully ask of You in earnest.  

Come smite the human inhabitants on this planet, Goddess.  Destroy us, if You will.  We do not deserve the beautiful and magical gift of this planet or the pureness of sharing our truest selves.  We have stopped earning the right to be here when we stopped respecting and loving this place and all of its inhabitants.  We stopped earning that right when we put our selfish ego needs ahead of the good of the whole, when we forgot how to share ourselves, when we forgot how to prioritize in a way that we all win.

Smite us with Your fiercest hand, bring us Home, and maybe someday (should You see fit) You might try the human experiment again.

In deepest gratitude, tortured sincerity, and most genuine Love I say this simple prayer,

:)k