No More Flies

Yesterday a co-worker said, “Hey, you know what? The flies are gone!” He’s right. After his statement, I realized that it has been about a week since I’ve been pestered by a fly. When I first arrived in country, the flies were ‘fairly pesky’, building to a ‘constantly pesky’ peak about the middle of May, and then they just pretty much disappeared. One of the standard adornments of every building I’ve been in here are strips of fly paper, tacked up in just about every room. Some of them have been up long enough to be fully layered on both sides, monuments to either the stupidity of flies or the brilliance of some Egyptian vector control guy who worked for the Pharoh way back when (probably a combination, as flies don’t even have a brain, per se, and humans are as yet the only species known to be capable of original rational thought). I personally feel the fly paper should be replaced when (due to the accumulation of dead flies) it reaches the consistency of black velvet on both sides, as by that time it is no longer effective. However, there are those whose antagonism towards the fly goes beyond practicality to the point of gloating and vulgar posturing (all of which is lost on the flies, I’m sure), who leave these macabre strips of fly-coated paper up interminably. I am satisfied enough when I am able to nail one or two a day at my workstation with the community fly swatter. And for those who have encountered the famous Black Fly in Minnesota (which I, fortunately, have NOT), these flies here are of the harmless non-biting housefly variety, not really worth an emotional investment one way or the other. Bottom line, I’m glad they’re gone.

Semper Fi, Jon G.