The Elusive No See-um.

 

This morning while sitting on my stoop absorbing some sun and meditating  on big thoughts, "I am not this body, I am not this mind, Ahhh..."  and so forth, I was listening to the beautiful music of the song birds, and the occasional breeze blowing through the branches of my big tree.  When I heard the faint buzz of a fly and felt it land on my thigh.  I looked down to do what you do when flies land on your thigh and saw what turned out to be a very pretty colored buzzy bug.  The fly was golden in color, shiny body with white wings.  I know I've seen them before, I guess I just never noticed one that closely before.  This is what happens when one lands on you in mid meditation.

The fly seemed to be looking up at me his little ugly head cocked just so as he buzzed his wings just a bit and was walking a circular pattern around something else on my leg.  His gaze shifted from me to the object on my thigh.  He walked a few times around, I didn't count, probably should have, then stopped and stared down at the center of his circle. 

 He looked up at me one last time and flew away.  I then noticed I could feel something else on my leg.  I looked back down and that's when I saw it.  I spied a little black speck crawling around on my thigh in the center of the golden fly's circle.  It was very, very small.  Would have fit very well on the pointy end of a pin, but I could see it non the less.  Then it stopped and and seemed to remain motionless for just a micro moment.  Then I felt it, that little bastard bit me.  It actually stung so I tapped my leg and it flew away.  I couldn't see it anymore, but I heard a very high pitch buzz fly passed my right ear.  

I then realized that I had done it.  I had seen the unseeable, I had heard the tell tale sign.  That sound that tortures hikers from Northern Maine, through New Hampshire and into Vermont.  I had seen the elusive, "NO Seeum."  There are many stories told by many peoples of the North about these creatures, and I was just introduced to one by a golden fly.  

Now I supposed I'll have to rename them, I'll call them the, "Once upon a time See-ums."  The Chinese have their Dragons, and the North Country have these little fiends.  Now I suppose I can do anything...

Peace and Balance,

John