Not So Easy Pickings
.
Sofia and I went back to my mother’s house to get some fruits yesterday. We “gait” some manggis, rambutans but I had to climb the dokong tree. One thing that never changed, the ants could really really give you trouble if they bite at the right places. Each time I plucked a bunch of dokongs, they’d be all over my hands and it took them just a few seconds to be everywhere. Their bites never bother me, must be the immunity that I have developed over the years. Except at some places, geli. Those small black ants are OK but not those bigger ones that we call “kelingkiak” or something like that. Now, those guys could hurt you. As bad as a hornet’s sting. Bisa. They usually make their homes in some hole that they burrowed in the smaller branches. You’d get a red welt that hurts like hell and would not go away for a day or two. When that happens, we'd get some chalk or kapur and smear it over the welt and drink lots of water and try to piss as much as possible as they said that is the best way to get the poison out of our bodies. You figure that out.
And I discovered that I could no longer depend on my arms to haul me around the trees like before. Hmmm, must be the jeans I was wearing. Or maybe I’m heavier. Or maybe the arms are weaker. Naaahhh… must be the jeans…. Never climb a tree full of ants in your jeans. Makes it difficult to get at the ants when they decided to bite you at some hard to get to places. It was pluck the dokongs, put them in the basket, brush the ants away, pluck the dokongs, put them in the basket, brush the ants away, punctuated by shouts of “Alamak semut ni, macam tak ada tempat lain nak diperginya….”, pluck the dokongs, put them......
And Sofia and her cousin Nadia a.k.a. Ya, would be laughing their heads off down on the ground.
.
Sofia and I went back to my mother’s house to get some fruits yesterday. We “gait” some manggis, rambutans but I had to climb the dokong tree. One thing that never changed, the ants could really really give you trouble if they bite at the right places. Each time I plucked a bunch of dokongs, they’d be all over my hands and it took them just a few seconds to be everywhere. Their bites never bother me, must be the immunity that I have developed over the years. Except at some places, geli. Those small black ants are OK but not those bigger ones that we call “kelingkiak” or something like that. Now, those guys could hurt you. As bad as a hornet’s sting. Bisa. They usually make their homes in some hole that they burrowed in the smaller branches. You’d get a red welt that hurts like hell and would not go away for a day or two. When that happens, we'd get some chalk or kapur and smear it over the welt and drink lots of water and try to piss as much as possible as they said that is the best way to get the poison out of our bodies. You figure that out.
And I discovered that I could no longer depend on my arms to haul me around the trees like before. Hmmm, must be the jeans I was wearing. Or maybe I’m heavier. Or maybe the arms are weaker. Naaahhh… must be the jeans…. Never climb a tree full of ants in your jeans. Makes it difficult to get at the ants when they decided to bite you at some hard to get to places. It was pluck the dokongs, put them in the basket, brush the ants away, pluck the dokongs, put them in the basket, brush the ants away, punctuated by shouts of “Alamak semut ni, macam tak ada tempat lain nak diperginya….”, pluck the dokongs, put them......
And Sofia and her cousin Nadia a.k.a. Ya, would be laughing their heads off down on the ground.
.
posted by dudae_simboyo at 16:14
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