I am a mosquito magnet.  A beacon of light capable of attracting practically any mosquito within a 50-mile radius.  Perhaps more appropriately, I am a tasty, human snack for anything that flies and bites.  Sometimes, I wonder if this could be the reason why I get invited to so many summer parties -- as a means of keeping biting insects away from all the other guests.

Why me?  I don't know.  I’ve been like this since I was a kid.  My grandmother used to tell me it was because I was ‘sweet as sugar.’  Grandmothers always know just the right thing to say, don't they?  But seriously, I can hang out with a group of people and be the only one who gets bitten.  I’ve already spent a fair amount of time trying to determine what it is that makes me so irresistible.  I've ingested garlic pills, stuck fabric softener sheets in my pockets, worn light-colored clothes, eliminated fragranced beauty products -- and in the past, even doused myself in dozens of chemically-infused insect repellents.  Nothing really seems to do the trick.
 
Memorial Day is not just the beginning of the summer season.  For me, the biting season has officially begun too.  I've already received my inaugural bite and it's only the month of May.  Oh, well ... I've learned to accept the fact that insects will have a lifelong, love affair with me and my skin.  Now, if I could only bottle this intense, power of attraction ... hmmmm.