Complaints to the Chafe-

Contrary to any sensible thought process, I had the strange conviction this morning that there was a bug in the toe of my shoe.

I knew this to be a foolhardy thought, and so, while imagining a bug crawling helter skelter amongst my toes, I drove the rest of the way to my job.

I just checked, 9 hours later, and there is nothing in my shoe. Am I paranoid about bugs? Why yes, yes I am.

I blame it on serving a mission in Guatemala for 18 months. There are many bugs there. Probably the most creepy part was moving to Guatemala City, into a community called Los Olivos. It seemed to be very civilized and modern. However, the house in which we lived, had a problem with cockroaches.

Quickly after moving in, I found out if we did not double bag our bread before going bedside, it would be filled with tiny cockroaches the next morning. Where did they come from? Why were there so many? Where did they go at night? I remember praying fervently that I would never find a cockroach in my bed. And I never did- except one time one of those tiny baby ones was by my pillow and I killed it immediately.

There were cockroaches in the electric panel box, in our spice box, under our gas oven range. Did I find that out in one day? No, but I knew they were coming from someplace and there were minimal places for them to hide. Anytime I saw one, it was smashed instantly.

I'm pretty sure they came out of the water drain in our fenced porch where the sink was. Thinking back, we should have kept a bowl over it anytime it wasn't in use. Except then where would the water go when it rained?

Anyway, after routinely killing any insect I found in the house, their presence was reduced to a couple times a week, versus the previous daily infestation. Did I spray them all with deadly pesticide, causing one companion to rant for hours about the headache it gave her? Why yes, yes I did. Did that same girl also tell me that cockroaches were God's creatures and that I should let them live? Why yes, yes she did. Do not worry. I paid her no mind. Not in my house, I won't.

Gradually, as the tiny man population in my house dwindled, the second sense I had developed dwindled yet continued on. Now that this sense has been awakened, it will forevermore find all the pincher bugs on my ceiling and walls at home and the spiders with egg sacs living underneath our kitchen cupboards. Much to the chagrin of Charles O'Keefe, the designated bug killer in our house.

With such a fancy imagination, it's no wonder I find the creativity to imagine bugs in my shoes every once in a while. What a treat.