Why must bees rob us of our dignity? You’re sitting at a table outside a cafe on a sunny day, and you lean back in your chair and take a deep breath of fresh air, exhale, and smile as the sun warms your face. Then, out of nowhere, a bee comes at you. You swat it away.
Ok, no problem, it’s gone, you think. And no one was the wiser.
But the bee comes back around for a second pass. Now it’s perched on the edge of your beverage.
What does this thing want?!
You wave it away, angrily. But, like a boomerang it comes back, faster and closer. Now it’s got a hard look in its eye. Before it just wanted to mess with you; now it’s out to get you. You know you’re mere seconds from getting stung. You haven’t been stung in a long time and don’t know how you’ll handle it – will you cry in public? Will your face swell up, because it turns out you’re allergic? You don’t know, and the unknown is scary. So you’re swatting and swatting, but this darn bee won’t take the hint and leave.
You’re forced out of your seat, backing away from the table, all the while keeping your eye on this bee that’s completely unstable. You’re being terrorized by this tiny, fuzzy flyer, and you have no choice but to cave to its demands.
Everyone around you is a witness to your cowardice as you’re ducking and diving and shrieking. Why does this bee have it out for you? It’s not going to anyone else. It’s not locating flowers like it should be doing. It came here, to this cafe, all with the intent of stealing your dignity! What did you ever do to deserve this?
Happy Spring, everyone. Stay safe out there.
A Flick of the Pen 