Chigger remedies

While tromping around in some fields and woods without proper clothing (O.K., I was clothed; I had on loafers, socks, slacks, etc.), I picked up a few insects. My family has routinely joked about returning from the area that I visited bearing “chicks and tiggers,” and I did. I removed two ticks, but I missed at least one chigger.

False remedies for chiggers abound. I spent a little time searching for evidence-based remedies, and I think examining them may provide a good analogy for examining approaches to remedying Learning Disabilities. I might pursue this line of reasoning some time….

Anyway, if you’re looking for information about treating chiggers, a Wikipedia entry includes a section on the topic in its coverage of harvest mites; it’s more prevention than treatment, but it may prove useful. More generally, I came upon a site describing first aid myths.

Update: There are other sites with additional information listed here.

Tony Gwynn

Anthony Keith Gwynn will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today. To be elected to the Hall of Fame, Mr. Gwynn had have outstanding credentials as a baseball player. He does.

Not to slight Cal Ripken, a tremendous player and great ambassador for baseball who also will be inducted today, but Mr. Gwynn cut an unusual swath among professional athletes. Amid all the contemporary problems in sports, Mr. Gwynn represents the good side of things. Bill Platschke, who writes for the Los Angeles Times but once covered Mr. Gwynn’s games in San Diego, provided an appreciative column that captures important features of those aspects of Mr. Gwynn’s personal relationships with people. I hope the Baseball Hall of Fame recognition of Mr. Gwynn captures more than his baseball accomplishments.