Day 11 A Parable

Day 11  We wake up in Lubbock, Texas.  A town whose name sounds like a frog with a bug caught in its throat.  Lubbock, Lubbock.

We went from 3200 ft altitude to 7500 feet along what I thought were flat roads.  We saw the west change from flat, hot prairie to wooded pine forests in the mountains.  We saw oil wells, cattle feeding lots, windmills and fields of soy beans.  

Now we’re in Rociada, NM, not far from Santa Fe. Very nice park in the high country.  Wooded. Cool. Spacious sites.  We had a great dinner of pork and sauerkraut that Jen had cooking all day in a crockpot.

Now, Today’s Parable.

It’s been a 6 hour day of driving along Texas two-lane roads and I’m ready sit outside with a cold beer.

I’m sitting at the picnic table, peanuts and beer, just chill-laxin.  Along comes a bee.  “Shoo bee,  nothing here for you.”  He goes away and comes back with 20 buddies.  “Shoo bees, I got nothing for you. Buzz off!”

Jen comes out to join me for an extended happy hour... and the bees stick around, as if they were invited.  They expect wine to be served to them as well and are immediately attracted to Jen’s wine glass.  These are cultured bees, I suppose.  

As Jen reaches for her glass, Whap! She gets stung on the hand.  Oh my that hurts.  She retreats inside and I get the fly swatter and prepare to do battle.  You hurt my wife, I’m coming after you.

The bees are very quick and don’t stay in one place very long.  It’s hard to swat them out of the air.  They are too quick. I need to set a trap.  Aha!  They like wine... I drop some of Jen’s wine on the table and the lay in wait.  Sure enough the bees fall for my clever trap.  They love wine. Whap! One down.  Whap, Whap, Whap, Whap!!  Take that you bees!  Ha, ha - Paul wins!!

Now, back to my beer.

Little did I know that the bees (after many thousands of years of evolution) are very smart.  They learn quickly.  

“Ha!”  They say.  “We like wine, he likes beer.  He will fall for our clever trap.” 

It was a glorious evening and I was just content to sit in peace.  A cold beer, Paul you deserve it.

I took a good long sip of the cold beer and - Whap!  I got stung on the lip!  Those devil bees!  Laying in wait on the inside of the beer can.  Where did they get that idea? Oh, yeah, copy cats, clever traps, evolution.

Oh my, does that hurt... a bee sting on the inside of my lip.  Now, I’m writing this from INSIDE our RV, with ice on my lip.  

The bees won, I suppose.  

Turn about is fair play, I suppose.

“BEE”ware the trap you set - you might BEE the one who gets caught.

Which got me to thinking about the birds and the bees and the cycle of life.   We’re not here to -Whap - subdue nature but to be part of nature and help the whole thing work in harmony.   

Which makes me think of CO2 and fossil fuels and bee hive collapse.  

And I will be more gentle with the world tomorrow.