This bag is too weird. Not a man and not an animal--it's some sort of beast. It has a crazy face on it with a gnarly mouth and green bug-eyes. Is it watching for pickpockets? Wonder if it bites the hand that tries to go inside the purse. I can't look at this thing anymore. Make it go away! ;-) (Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
That's when you make a big deal out of nothing. So yesterday, I heard the European version of this as:
Making a mosquito into a mule
Honestly, I like that version a lot better. A mosquito bites and is annoying. But a mule resists and is a very stubborn animal that can drive you crazy. You definitely don't want to make a mosquito into a mule! ;-) (Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So our daughter went off to college and brought us home a present--bed bugs! This was the worst--at first we didn't understand why we were getting itchy bites. Eventually, with some research and inspection, we figured it out We tried to treat it ourselves--powders, sprays, encasements, and more--all to no avail. We also threw out all the bedding and even the beds. We were losing sleep and patience--big time. We finally hired a serious exterminator who brought in these huge heaters and blasted our place for about 6 hours at something like 140 degrees. That should kill those and any other buggers bothering us. When I got home--it was an oven and I couldn't even change my clothes because the workers were still here at it. I spent 5 hours cleaning up afterwards in the boiling house and even with all the windows open, it was like an oven and impossible to sleep last night--tossing and turning. It was hell, but hopefully it's over--may I never see another vermin like this again. ;-) (Source Photo: here, although Lynnwood is not the company we used, you get the idea)
Andy Blumenthal is Deputy Program Director at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader with over 35 years of experience delivering results across the public and private sectors. All opinions are his own.
