The Lessons Life Teaches, A Collection of Short Stories.

The Scorpions

In 1974, I was a geology major at Arizona State University. Because I was not gifted with the ability to absorb and memorize book knowledge easily, I had to spend a lot of time studying. I wrote a poem in 2000 with this verse, "Life's lessons are so hard to learn from the towers on the hill. But touch the water as it flows and with wisdom you will fill." This came from my college experience where it was very difficult for me to learn and memorize facts from a book or lecture. But easier and enjoyable to learn from nature.

I am so thankful that I grew up in the age before personal computers, the internet, cell phones, and video games. Not because I do not appreciate them, but because during high school and college for enjoyment, while not studying, I hiked, camped, backpacked, and rode a 15-speed bicycle. Looking at me now, that I am fat and old, it is difficult to believe. But yes, once I was thin and in good shape. Bicycling was enjoyable most evenings as it released pent up energy and the frustrations of the day. It also provided plenty of time to relax and think. On weekends there were many places to hike and camp around Phoenix. I must have hiked up Squaw Peak Mountain more than 20 times just to see how quickly I could get to the top. As an aside, the mountain is now named "Piestewa Peak". According to Wikipedia, "Piestewa Peak is named in honor of Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa, the first known Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military, and the first female soldier to be killed in action in the 2003 Iraq War." She was a Hopi Indian born in Arizona. Moving forward, during the summer and on holidays backpacking trips were always in order. Several of my friends and I, without exaggeration, backpacked hundreds of miles in the Grand Canyon, Superstition Wilderness, White Mountains in Arizona, and the San Juan Wilderness area in Colorado. The memories of these trips are treasured by me.

This story is about one of those camping trips. My neighbor, Chris, and I met Tom, an Arizona State University graduate student. Tom was a graduate assistant at the poisonous reptile lab in the biology department. Like us, Tom also enjoyed getting out and camping. One day he suggested that we all go camping and he would take his ultraviolet light to look for those small, straw-colored, very poisonous, scorpions at night. He said the scorpions glowed a bright yellow green in the ultraviolet light. These scorpions are common in the Arizona desert but because they are nocturnal you rarely see them during the day.

So, Tom, a couple other friends, and I went camping out in the desert one weekend. We got there late and set up camp after dark. This just consisted of a plastic sheet laid out on the ground with your sleeping bag on it. Then I asked Tom where we go to look for the scorpions. I don't know why but for some reason I thought we would walk out from the camp for a good distance to see them. Tom said well we will start here. He turned on the ultraviolet light and there they were around where we were camping. Then Tom said that is why you check your boots before you put them on. The scorpions like to hide in them. When you put the boot on and irritate them, they sting you. Believe me from then on, I religiously checked my boots before putting them on. The other issue was when it came time to crawl into the sleeping bag. Even though I had camped out many times, I was totally paranoid all night that one of those little scorpions would join me. It was a sleepless night.

I guess the takeaway here, among other things, is what you don't see can hurt you. But take a few precautions like checking your boots before you put them on or watching where you put your hands when you pick something up can go a long way in lessening your chance of disaster from a scorpion sting. Learning from nature and fast forwarding to the present Covid-19 epidemic we realize that, like the scorpion, the Covid-19virus is an unseen danger. But taking a few precautions like wearing a face mask, attempting to maintain a 6 feet distance from other people, washing your hands often and avoiding crowds can goa long way to help avoid its 'sting'. Even knowing this my family was recently devastated by the Covid virus. Six members of our family were recently infected and some, including me, became extremely sick. My wife and our daughter quite literally nearly died in the hospital. Only by the grace of God, a lot of prayers from friends, and some very dedicated and skilled nurses and doctors did they survive. We were all careful outside the home but not nearly as careful in the home. When one member of our family caught the virus and brought it into our home it quickly spread and infected the entire family. It was the same as assuming the scorpions were somewhere outside the camp. When, like the scorpions, the virus was already in our midst.