When I was a kid, I would yell when I saw a daddy long legs or a cockroach. My dad would come in the room and say, “What are you screaming about? That little bug? Where I grew up in Colombia, those were THIS big.”
He would hold his hands four feet apart, and I would envision a dog-sized daddy long legs creeping on my ceiling and a kitten-eating cockroach under my bed.
Over time I convinced myself that those colossal creatures didn’t exist. I laughed at my dad and his tall tales. For a short, naïve while I wasn’t even afraid of bugs.
When I was in high school, the Discovery Channel ruined my life with their 2-hour special on siafu ants. Texas fire ants sucked enough. Now I would have to think about endless chains of big ants destroying everything in their path from trees to people.
Recently I decided that I shouldn’t be afraid of siafu ants. I’m not planning on visiting Africa or tropical Asia anytime too soon, so they can’t tear me to shreds yet...
Then I was informed of something even worse-- the bullet ant. Of course they’re bigger than siafu ants. When they sting you, it feels like you’ve been shot, and the pain lasts for 24 hours.
Guess where they live? Colombia. My dad is taking my family there in 5 months, and I’ll probably get stung in the eye by a bullet ant for ever doubting his stories.
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