The Mango Strikes Back

     Last Monday we went to cut a mango tree that was shading a particularly troublesome part of the road. Just making the decision to cut the tree was an interesting story but that is for another time.

     We tied the tree off to the truck and I pulled the tree while one of the workmen cut it. The rope broke and the tree went toward the power line. One branch of the tree caught the service line and broke it. I forgot to mention that it started pouring rain while we were cutting the tree.

     We all sat in the truck until the rain slacked off. When the rain finally slowed we got out of the truck to survey the damage. The service line was broken and the tree was blocking the road. It was still raining a little but we started cutting the tree.

     There are ants here called korakon who make their nests in the leaves of trees. They are large red ants and when they are disturbed they get angry quickly and they bite. This tree was full of their nests and so cutting the tree was quite a painful experience. I had taken off my shirt because it was soaking wet and sticking to me (bad idea).

     People can have allergic reactions to mangos and the trees (a lot like poison ivy). I had never had any real reactions that I had attributed to mangos so I didn’t really think about it. I was all in the fallen tree cutting and pulling and dragging it away. All the while these ants were biting me. I was swatting them and inadvertently rubbing the mango sap all over my body.

     I guess you can figure out the rest of the story. The next morning when I woke up I was itching everywhere my shorts were not. It has been 7 days now and it has not really gotten any better yet. I have tried everything to get some relief from the itching without much success. The lower part of my right leg is swollen and I have poison ivy like bumps pretty much every where. Please pray that it will go away quickly. Half the people on the mountain have told me what I need to do to get rid of it but nothing has worked. Wow, now I have a little glimpse into what Tiff was feeling when we were in the village, what an awesome trooper she was to tough that out for that long. My woman is the MAN!!!!!!

 

matt