Last night I talked about listening to a James Herriot audiobook called, "Every Living Thing." If you haven't read Herriot's books, I highly recommend them - All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Wise and Wonderful, All Things Bright and Beautiful. In these books, Herriot, a country vet in England recounts true stories (with names changed) of his patients and the humans that owned them. Very funny stories that are also tender, beautifully written anecdotes about Mr. Herriot's experiences as a vet. The descriptions of the countryside and the simpler times in the late 1930's through early 1950's are heartwarming.
In "Every Living Thing" chapter 48, Herriot recounts visiting the Colwell's home to check on a dog with a fractured femur that had not set properly. While in the home, he is attacked by fleas and carries them home with him. He undresses at the door and tells his wife, Helen, that he is going to take a bath to try to get rid of them. He immerses himself in the bathwater and sees the little black critters on the water's surface, drains the tub and repeats the process. Poor James Herriot is tormented by them for days.
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It reminded me of a poem I once read:
I think that I shall never see
A beast as loathsome as a flea.
A flea whose hungry mouth consumes
All the blood that it exhumes.
A flea that makes me scratch all day
And irritates in every way.
A flea that gets into my hair
And makes me scratch 'til I am bare.
Poems are made by fools like me.
But God should not have made the flea.
-Terry Hoffman
I have a flea story of my own. In my job that I've been doing for close to five years now, I drive around and inspect vehicles that have been damaged. I take photos and then write estimates for repair and deliver the estimates to the adjuster for payment to the insured or the claimant. When I was being initially trained, I was warned about dogs. My trainer told me that he was chased on top of a fuel tank after being bitten. He was bleeding and had to call for help! I've heeded the warning for dogs, but I was not warned about fleas!
I daily see a myriad of vehicles of all types - from Porsches to Pickups, from $1,800 Toyotas to $88,000 Escalades. Around a year ago, I was assigned to see an old Toyota Tacoma. Driving up, I could see that the vehicle was in poor condition, even before the collision. There was not a single panel on the vehicle that did not have prior damage - dents, scratches, rust, missing trim. I could see this was going to be a total loss.
In order to properly value the vehicle, I must get the odometer reading. I opened the door and was struck with a strong smell. I gingerly eased into the driver's seat, pushing over a paper plate of half eaten chicken that had been there for a few days, put the key in the ignition and quickly got the mileage. The interior of the vehicle was full of debris and so very dirty, I rushed to finish up and got in my car and used antibacterial gel on my hands to try to clean up.
I drove away, happy to move on to my next stop. I was driving down the highway at 55 mph when something caught my eye on my khaki pants. It was a black speck on my lap. Must be some dirt. I went to flick it off, but it jumped! Oh no! Five minutes later I felt a sensation on my ankle. I pulled off to the shoulder of the road, got out, pulled my pant leg up, lowering my sock and... There is was. A flea! I shook my legs and did a little dance on the side of the road that surely amused other passing motorists, but I didn't care. Driving home I found several more in the cab, jumping around on me and the seat of my car, happy to be in a new surrounding.
I got home and undressed like James Herriot. I cleaned up and the next morning, got into my car to begin my day and found that I had little passengers that now infested and inhabited my car. That afternoon I used a leaf blower to blow out the interior of my vehicle and over time, I haven't seen anymore.
The moral of the story: Watch out for dogs, but watch out for fleas, too!
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