Life Lessons From A Honey Bee Attack

When I was a kid, my Dad kept honey bees.  He would occasionally get calls from people in the community who had swarms of bees in or near their house, and helped out a few relatives that had hives on their property.  As is the wont of little boys, often times, I would tag along.  We would go out and he would capture swarms, or similar work.  Since honey bees have been on the decline, you don’t see bee swarms as much these days…

I have a distinct recollection of being a little boy and watching him work a hive at a relative’s home one afternoon.  I was probably about 9-years old.  He only needed a few minutes to take care of business, so the rest of the family was sitting in the truck.  I, of course, had ventured out to watch.  I was standing at the corner of a garage, and must have been at least 50-yards away, which should have been a safe distance.  Apparently I was wrong.

I remember the first bee sting.  It was on my arm.  And it HURT.

The second came on my hand.

The third was my nose.

I ran and slapped at them.

The fourth one I remember most distinctly.  A bee had gotten in my hair and was using its legs to dig down to my scalp.  It got me on the top of my head.

I don’t remember how many times I was stung.  Only that it hurt.  Then it itched.  I remember my Mom, rubbing her fingers through my hair, telling me it would be OK.

My Dad was bewildered.  They had absolutely gone wild.  They had gotten inside his suit and stung him multiple times, as well.  There was no explanation for their behavior.

Naturally, we survived.  But experiences like this shape us, sometimes in ways we don’t even know.  But, over the years, I’ve reflected back on this, and there are a few things I learned from this experience:

• Bad things sometimes happen for no apparent reason.
• Screaming in an emergency never helps.
• Little boys are attracted to trouble.
• Whoever discovered benadryl is a genuis.
• If something hurts you, maybe you should just walk away.
• A bee sting inside your nose really, really, hurts.
• Slapping at a tiny irritation isn’t always the best idea.
• Even if you think you’re in complete control of a situation, you’re probably not.
• The smallest of things can really add up.
• Sometimes the best medicine is a mother’s touch.

We are, all of us, the sum of our experiences.  For a long time, I was terrified of honey bees.  I eventually got over that fear, but that’s another story.

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