01/19/04’s illustrious band:

Sucking Piercing Mouthparts

Brought to you by Master Amy. Well, soon-to-be Master Amy, who learned this delightful term in a Master Gardener class this past weekend.

Bugs were a hot topic at the most recent MG class. Amy and her classmates -- one of whom shuddered every time an image of a bug appeared on the screen -- learned that some bugs have biting, chewing mouthparts and some have sucking, piercing mouthparts. I’ll spare you the gruesome illustrations, but suffice it to say they were frightening.

And little did she know that the lesson would crop up in real life so quickly. Just this afternoon, one of her treasured desktop plants was consigned to the trash because it was infested with sucking piercing mouthpart bugs. She felt bad about dumping it (actually, having someone else do the dirty deed for her) but is obliged to consider the welfare of the rest of the desktop plant community.

In other news, I haven’t heard back from my long-lost grad school classmate Giles yet. It occurred to me, after I posted Friday’s blog, that I had sent my e-mail to his work address on a Friday evening and he was not likely to see it until Monday -- or Tuesday if his company observes the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. I should have taken the initiative and called him on the weekend as invited. Well, maybe tomorrow.

Today around the world: Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S. and elsewhere. Go out and commit an act of civil disobedience in his honor.

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