You’ve heard this one before: the rest of it is, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite/If they do, squeeze them tight/And they won’t bite tomorrow night.” I know my mother used to tell me this when she tucked me in at night. Of course, I thought it was just a bedtime nursery rhyme, but as you may already be aware, those bed bugs are real. Apparently they’ve made a comeback all over the country, after nearly being wiped out in the blissful days when we sprayed chemicals to our heart’s delight (the era of “Quick, Henry! The Flit!“).

Considering the public’s general unfamiliarity with bed bugs up to now, I’d recommend that instead of guiding Junior towards a future in electrical engineering, parents gently suggest a career in pest management. Luckily, so far, we haven’t been infested (and even if we were, I wouldn’t tell you). I must say, in the process of learning about them, they’re kind of fascinating. The males apparently have “hypodermic genitalia” and pierce the female in the process of sharing those essential bodily fluids necessary to reproduction. The ladies then can lay up to five eggs a day, with about a 500-egg ceiling during their lifetime. It seems that in one particular genus of bed bugs, both sexes have these external genitals, and it seems the males sometimes “spear” each other and leave their semen with their buddy.

Of course, with up to five eggs a day and bugs of all types and sizes becoming resistant to treatments, they’re fascinating– from a distance. There’s a site online where you can track self-reported infestations (i.e., those souls brave enough to admit they’ve been overrun). So far it looks like New York City is having some trouble with the critters, while the only report (so far!) in Los Angeles is in the Hollywood area, just north of Franklin. DC and suburban Maryland so far is relatively clean- I didn’t check other locations.

I hope none of you ever have to face this problem (and the same for myself!). But from now on, I won’t be thinking of bed bugs as just a fanciful nursery rhyme…

I’m in DC for the Deaf history Conference at Gallaudet, a gathering that will honor the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Kendall Green and the subsequent history of what has since become Gallaudet University and its affiliated schools (MSSD and KDES).

On the way to campus, it was really remarkable how the surrounding area has changed, even since my last few visits. There’s now a spiffy new charter school on Florida Avenue, just catercorner from the infamous Em-Kay Liquor store. Across the street from this spanking new school is an abandoned lot, next to the Burger King. There’s a billboard there advertising a future high-scale housing development. On Florida Avenue across from campus, some of the houses have been renovated or replaced, and they look much better. That isn’t to say that the entire area has been 100% gentrified, but it’s definitely well on its way.

Once I got to the hotel at the conference center, I went up to the counter to check in. Recalling my experiences from my last visit, I didn’t have high hopes. But to my surprise, the clerk was able to read my signs, and to sign back to me. It wasn’t outstanding, and she’s hearing, but it was a *major* improvement over last time, when I had two totally clueless clerks who couldn’t sign worth shit. Obviously someone with some influence was tipped off as to the situation, and things have changed. This is good, considering there are quite a few deaf people coming into town for this conference.

I still think hearing employees should be partnered with deaf employees wherever possible, and definitely until the hearing employee’s ASL skills are fluent enough, not just at “survival level.” Still, this is an improvement. So to whoever realized a change was needed, many thanks!

Right now, I’m either safely in my seat, chewing some gum and reading a magazine, or (more likely!) dozing off to sleep as the stewardesses bustle up and down the aisle. I’ll be leaving on a jet plane this morning for DC, so it’s highly doubtful I’ll have updates for you at this site until I return. If I can manage it, I will. More likely though, you’ll have better luck seeing what I’m up to over the next few days here. Check it out; I aim to please, and hopefully you won’t be disappointed.