Letters to Strangers

a salute to those who leave a mark

Dear Liquid Ant Bait Manufacturer,

I love you. That is not hyperbole. You’ve transformed life in this 30-year-old RV from a House of Horrors to a House of Minor Inconveniences, maybe a series of science experiments. I’m no longer afraid to wake up in the morning to see how many more ants have made our home theirs, and you’re the reason.

A few days ago we had 42,222 ants (okay, that’s hyperbole) and I watched (with hope wrapped in desperation) as my husband prepared the bait, your bait. Twenty-fours later everything was different. The ants were dutifully sipping the sweet liquid laced with borax and methodically traveling back and forth from the bait station to the colony. It was two lanes of traffic along the side of the kitchen window, and it was mesmerizing. “It looks like the ending of Field of Dreams!” I told my husband. Since you spilled it, they will come.

Cosmetics companies don’t sell makeup, as they say. They sell hope. Well, guess what? They’re no match for you!

xoxo

The Woman Who Feels Guilty Stepping on an Ant if It’s Outside