Mexico could have coined the phrase: necessity is the mother of invention.
And I just may have acquired a bit of that trait. At least, inadvertently.
I was sitting on the patio the other day deeply engrossed in my Kindle. When I noticed the mosquitoes were sucking more blood out of me than tales of the Mexican war were getting past my thick skull.
So, I did the natural thing. I grabbed the orange can of Off. Sprayed some on my hands. And started rubbing it on.
I noticed the consistency was a bit odd. Foamy. And a bit runny.
For good reason. I had grabbed the Raid can my mistake. Part of my leaf-cutter ant defense kit.
In my defense, the cans are a bit similar. Orange. Blue. Yellow.
Of course, the "Raid" and "Off" labels are rather prominent. Not to mention the black cap on the Raid can. A pretty good warning that something dangerous lies within.
I switched cans and slathered the remainder of my bare skin with Off.
I considered washing off the Raid, and decided: why? In my years of spraying the poison around, I have been coated more than once with it. Both my exterior and interior. And maybe it would simply kill the next mosquito that dared to land on me.
There was some justice in this little accident. I have an acquaintance in Barra who regularly coats himself with Raid instead of Off. I guess this is what I get for making fun of him.
I would like to say I have learned my lesson. That the Raid can has been moved to a different table.
But, as I write, it is sitting right next to the Off can. Just waiting for another cameo appearance in some future blog.
Probably the blog where I mistake it for deodorant. Or Listerine.
And I just may have acquired a bit of that trait. At least, inadvertently.
I was sitting on the patio the other day deeply engrossed in my Kindle. When I noticed the mosquitoes were sucking more blood out of me than tales of the Mexican war were getting past my thick skull.
So, I did the natural thing. I grabbed the orange can of Off. Sprayed some on my hands. And started rubbing it on.
I noticed the consistency was a bit odd. Foamy. And a bit runny.
For good reason. I had grabbed the Raid can my mistake. Part of my leaf-cutter ant defense kit.
In my defense, the cans are a bit similar. Orange. Blue. Yellow.
Of course, the "Raid" and "Off" labels are rather prominent. Not to mention the black cap on the Raid can. A pretty good warning that something dangerous lies within.
I switched cans and slathered the remainder of my bare skin with Off.
I considered washing off the Raid, and decided: why? In my years of spraying the poison around, I have been coated more than once with it. Both my exterior and interior. And maybe it would simply kill the next mosquito that dared to land on me.
There was some justice in this little accident. I have an acquaintance in Barra who regularly coats himself with Raid instead of Off. I guess this is what I get for making fun of him.
I would like to say I have learned my lesson. That the Raid can has been moved to a different table.
But, as I write, it is sitting right next to the Off can. Just waiting for another cameo appearance in some future blog.
Probably the blog where I mistake it for deodorant. Or Listerine.
