[meteorite-list] The Tale of The Fire Ant (sort of an analogy....)
From: CMcdon0923_at_aol.com <CMcdon0923_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:49:00 2004 Message-ID: <150.1030ec0.28d44571_at_aol.com> --part1_150.1030ec0.28d44571_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Language: en As is my regular routine on Friday evenings this time of year, I donned my=20 rattiest pair of shorts, a similarly tattered shirt, an old pair of sneakers= ,=20 and went out to mow my yard. About 15 minutes into my chore, as I was=20 walking along behind the mower, minding my own business, agonizing over the=20 tragic events of this week, I suddenly felt a sharp stinging sensation on m= y=20 leg. I looked down to see a small creature, a fire-ant, clinging to the ski= n=20 of my shin. Now for those of you unfamiliar with fire-ants, as I was before moving to=20 Texas, let me give you a little background information. Fire-ants are God'= s=20 way of saying that size does not matter. Under the right conditions, a=20 strategically placed fire-ant sting can bring a tear to your eye. And even=20 if not, within the next few days, I will probably develop a dime-sized oozin= g=20 pustule on my leg, the result of its venom. All this from a tiny ant. But=20= I=20 digress=E2=80=A6back to my story. Upon noticing the ant clinging to me, did I stop and ask him, "Little ant,=20 why have you stung me? For I have allowed you to live in my land, and to=20 partake of all the bounty that is therein. I must understand your reasons=20 for this act." No, I reached down and killed him. And did I strike him wit= h=20 only enough force to kill him? No=E2=80=A6.I swatted the little bastard har= d enough=20 to kill a small mammal.=20 Then I noticed several more fire-ants, actively scurrying around on my=20 sneaker and crawling upon my sock, attempting to reach bare flesh where they= =20 too would undoubtedly inflict their painful stings upon me. Did I stop and=20 ask them, "Little ants, why do you also seek to harm me as did your brother?= =20 I have allowed all of you to live in my kingdom and partake of all its=20 bounty. I must understand your reasons for this act." No=E2=80=A6I killed=20= every one=20 of them also. And did I choose to ignore the fact that undoubtedly there was nearby, withi= n=20 my kingdom, a mound of fire-ants, all capable of inflicting their pain and=20 suffering upon not only me, but anyone who might happen to venture too close= =20 to them? No, I sought out their mound, and once located, I sprinkled upon=20 them granules of death (a.k.a. Diazanon), so that none of them would ever=20 inflict pain and suffering upon anyone again. And for the remainder of my=20 task of cutting my yard, as I came across other fire-ant mounds, similarly,=20= I=20 sprinkled upon them all, the Diazanon granules of death. But did I then run beyond the boundaries and borders of my kingdom to kill=20 all the fire-ants that might dwell in the kingdoms controlled by my=20 neighbors? Certainly not, for any fire-ants that may dwell upon their lands= =20 do not threaten me. However, if any of the ants that dwell in the lands of=20 my neighbors ever invade my kingdom in order to inflict their pain and=20 suffering upon me or anyone who I invite to dwell in or partake of my land,=20= I=20 will certainly rain the Diazanon granules of death upon them too. Now does this mean that I hate all species of ants? Certainly not. I'm=20 actually one of those people who will go out of his way to avoid stepping on= =20 an ant if I come across one as I walk. Ants are God's creatures too, and=20 they serve a valuable purpose in nature. (Although for the life of me I=20 can't figure out what He had in mind when He created fire-ants=E2=80=A6.or t= he=20 mosquito for that matter. Mental note to self: Ask Him some time.) =20 So why do I hate the lowly fire-ant? I hate them because they have on=20 numerous occasions, inflicted their pain upon me, and those about whom I=20 care. Do I believe for one moment that by killing those ants tonight, I hav= e=20 forever rid my kingdom of fire-ants? Certainly not, for I know that as sure= =20 as I eliminated the ants who attacked me tonight, other fire-ants are at thi= s=20 very moment, invading my land and will build their mounds therein. And what= =20 to do about this unending threat? =20 Let's just say I keep a very large bag of Diazanon in my garage. --part1_150.1030ec0.28d44571_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Language: en <HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3D2>As is my regular routine=20= on Friday evenings this time of year, I donned my rattiest pair of shorts, a= similarly tattered shirt, an old pair of sneakers, and went out to mow my y= ard. About 15 minutes into my chore, as I was walking along behind the= mower, minding my own business, agonizing over the tragic events of this we= ek, I suddenly felt a sharp stinging sensation on my leg. I look= ed down to see a small creature, a fire-ant, clinging to the skin of my shin= . <BR> <BR>Now for those of you unfamiliar with fire-ants, as I was before moving t= o Texas, let me give you a little background information. Fire-a= nts are God's way of saying that size does not matter. Under the right= conditions, a strategically placed fire-ant sting can bring a tear to your=20= eye. And even if not, within the next few days, I will probably develo= p a dime-sized oozing pustule on my leg, the result of its venom. All=20= this from a tiny ant. But I digress=E2=80=A6back to my story. <BR> <BR>Upon noticing the ant clinging to me, did I stop and ask him, "Lit= tle ant, why have you stung me? For I have allowed you to live in my l= and, and to partake of all the bounty that is therein. I must understa= nd your reasons for this act." No, I reached down and killed him. &nbs= p;And did I strike him with only enough force to kill him? No=E2=80= =A6.I swatted the little bastard hard enough to kill a small mammal.=20 <BR> <BR>Then I noticed several more fire-ants, actively scurrying around on my s= neaker and crawling upon my sock, attempting to reach bare flesh where they=20= too would undoubtedly inflict their painful stings upon me. Did I stop= and ask them, "Little ants, why do you also seek to harm me as did your bro= ther? I have allowed all of you to live in my kingdom and partake of a= ll its bounty. I must understand your reasons for this act." No= =E2=80=A6I killed every one of them also. <BR> <BR>And did I choose to ignore the fact that undoubtedly there was nearby, w= ithin my kingdom, a mound of fire-ants, all capable of inflicting their pain= and suffering upon not only me, but anyone who might happen to venture too=20= close to them? No, I sought out their mound, and once located, I sprin= kled upon them granules of death (a.k.a. Diazanon), so that none of them wou= ld ever inflict pain and suffering upon anyone again. And for the rema= inder of my task of cutting my yard, as I came across other fire-ant mounds,= similarly, I sprinkled upon them all, the Diazanon granules of death. <BR> <BR>But did I then run beyond the boundaries and borders of my kingdom to ki= ll all the fire-ants that might dwell in the kingdoms controlled by my neigh= bors? Certainly not, for any fire-ants that may dwell upon their lands= do not threaten me. However, if any of the ants that dwell in the lan= ds of my neighbors ever invade my kingdom in order to inflict their pain and= suffering upon me or anyone who I invite to dwell in or partake of my land,= I will certainly rain the Diazanon granules of death upon them too. <BR> <BR>Now does this mean that I hate all species of ants? Certainly not.= I'm actually one of those people who will go out of his way to avoid=20= stepping on an ant if I come across one as I walk. Ants are God's crea= tures too, and they serve a valuable purpose in nature. (Although for=20= the life of me I can't figure out what He had in mind when He created fire-a= nts=E2=80=A6.or the mosquito for that matter. Mental note to self: &nb= sp;Ask Him some time.) <BR> <BR>So why do I hate the lowly fire-ant? I hate them because they have= on numerous occasions, inflicted their pain upon me, and those about whom I= care. Do I believe for one moment that by killing those ants tonight,= I have forever rid my kingdom of fire-ants? Certainly not, for I know= that as sure as I eliminated the ants who attacked me tonight, other fire-a= nts are at this very moment, invading my land and will build their mounds th= erein. And what to do about this unending threat? <BR> <BR>Let's just say I keep a very large bag of Diazanon in my garage. <BR></FONT></HTML> --part1_150.1030ec0.28d44571_boundary-- Received on Sat 15 Sep 2001 01:47:29 AM PDT |
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