Bees

Fear is an odd thing -- sometimes it's irrational, and we know whatever it is that we're scared of is just a little (fill in the blank with object of fear), but we still tense up.  Every spring, the bugs wake up, warmed by the spring air, and so do the bees.  I don't know what it is about them, but bees have always been terrifying to me.  They're like little bullets of pure evil, yellow and black, outfitted with a stinger of death.

As a little kid, I used to scream and run.  I wouldn't listen when my mom would tell me I was probably scaring the bee -- what did I care?  If the bee was scared, he could fly away and leave me alone.  Now, I see a bee (or a wasp, or a hornet, or a yellow jacket) and I can't move.  If I can, it's usually backwards and away from the buzzing horror.  As far as I know, I've always been terrified of bees, and maybe that's a good thing.  At least I'm not afraid of something like dogs!

In first grade, we had a beekeeper come in and inform us about bees and making honey.  Unfortunately, I had chosen a front row seat.  I thought he was just going to show us a jar of honey and then give us honey candy, but no.  About halfway through the presentation, he pulled out this box from a black duffel bag.  This box was filled to the glass side windows with bees.  They were walking through their honeycomb in that menacing, hunched manner.  As I said before, I usually avoided seeing bees at all costs and usually left (screaming and running) if they did appear.  Now here I was, faced with a box full of them which was held by a man who apparently believed in letting kids experience things up close and personal.  He waved the box around in front of the first row, where I was ironically seated.  I closed my eyes and waited for the torture to be over.  Finally, the man pulled out a basket full of honey-flavored candy and told us we could have one as we left.  We filed out, and when I came to the basket I took two spitefully, to punish the man for his awful little comrades.  Unfortunately, I found out later I didn't like honey candy.  Everything about these bees seems to disagree with me.