by Michael Angier “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty.” When I was about five years old, I lived with my family in Enterprise, Alabama for a few months while my father attended an advanced aviation course at nearby Fort Rucker. What makes Enterprise, Alabama especially memorable is a strange monument they have in the middle of town. You can’t miss it. In fact, you have to drive around it because it sits right in the middle of the road. The monument is a statue to the boll weevil. It’s probably the only monument in the world erected in honor of an insect. It certainly wasn’t done because of its aesthetic value-the boll weevil is a particularly ugly-looking creature. Surprisingly, it was erected because of … Read entire article »