Menen Watches A Bumble Bee

My second memory is of a giant, brilliantly colored bee that was hovering above my face. It was so close to my skin that I could feel the air movement from its wings. At the time, I was lying in a laundry basket and the edges of it framed my view of the creature. In the background, there was a brilliant blue-sky with white clouds, and my mother was taking sheets off a clothesline.

As I got older, (I am guessing I was around six years old) I would fill tiny containers with honey and place them at the opening of beehives. With my little kid logic, I worried that they were hungry and I was trying to feed them.

When surfing, I occasionally see a live bee struggling on the surface of the ocean. I scoop the insect up, take it back to shore and rinse it with fresh water to remove the salt from its body. Then I set it on a leaf or rock and when it is dry enough, it flies away.

Today I was walking with The Man Who Makes Me Laugh and he told me of his fear of bees, and I in turn divulged my fear of spiders. Without hesitation, he proposed that I be in charge of bee relocation for him and in return, he would transfer spiders outside for me.

I found his proposal profoundly touching.