A peek at the REAL Thumbster

Doris the Bee

Hi there Thumblings. No doubt many of you reading this entry will figure I'm even weirder than you previously thought but I don't care. I've never been one to follow the herd and that's fine with me. Money doesn't rule my life nor is it an indicator of my self worth. It's important, yes, but I've never been one to care about brand names or what someone drives. I enjoy finding a bargin and only paying a fraction of what it would have cost to buy the exact same item somewhere else. I don't think of myself as a "consumer". I hate that word. It reminds me of some kind of ever hungry alien monster, never satisfied, always gobbling up more and more. I'm not here to gobble up stuff. I get more pleasure giving rather than taking.

I saved a bee today. Yes, you heard right, a bee. She's with me right now, resting on a bit of Kleenex on the computer desk in front of me. (I say "she" because most bees are female...nonfertile females...only the queen bee is fertile. The males, called drones, usually come out of the hive only once and that is with other drones to mate with one of the new queens which leave the hive when it's time to go start new colonies) I found this bee outside in a container filled with water a little while ago. To look at the bee then I'm sure you would have thought she was 100% stone cold dead. Absolutely no movement, her little legs folded tighly across her body and her tongue fully extended. (Bees have remarkably long tongues. They need them to get nectar out of flowers) She looked much like a wet, drowned cat would look. (Bees have hair too) But I've seen other bees and other tiny creatures in similar situations and knew appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes they can't be helped but sometimes they can. This bee was lucky. So how did I help? Simple, I removed the bee from the water, put her in the palm of my hand and cupped my other hand over her while breathing in between my thumb and forefinger. Slow steady breaths. Sometimes it can take several minutes before there's any indication of life but I love that moment when there is. It felt great seeing her revive. She's still currently very weak and groggy but she's cleaning herself as I write this, much like a cat cleans itself. Hopefully she'll be fit enough to be placed outside soon where she can continue being a bee and doing all the things a little bee does. Luckily today was not her day to die. I've named her Doris.

Alright I suppose some of you are arching your eyebrows and screaming at the screen, "It's ONLY a bee for Christ sake!" Some of you may even go out of your way to kill bees...but not me. It doesn't matter to me if it was a bee. It could have been anything...a bee, a cricket, a cat, a child. All I saw was a fellow creature that could use my help. Don't get me wrong, I don't go around looking for things to help. I'd never find time to do anything else. I've helped other bees and bugs and animals and people in the past but that's when I come across them in my day to day travels, like I did with this bee today. If I see something in need of help my first reaction is to help. No doubt that's why I enjoyed being a lifeguard when I was younger. Our Royal Life Saving Society's motto was something like, "In whomsoever you see in distress, recognize in him a fellow man", or words to that effect. Just for the record I don't do acts of kindness because I may be earning Heavenly brownie points or because of any other possible rewards. I like to help out when I can because it makes me feel good and because I know it's the right thing to do. It's the code I try to live by.

Bee update...Doris is moving around and is now responsive when I touch her, but she's still weak so it will probably be a while longer yet before I put her back outside...besides it's pouring anyways. I'm sure bees don't like to fly in the rain.

Speaking of rain, I woke up very early this morning to the LOUD crash of thunder. I can't recall ever going from being fast asleep to suddenly wide awake in a split second. Normally during thunder storms I'm aware of the distant thunder and lightning before they get that close. Also I think that was one of the most intense thunderstorms I've ever experienced. Normally I can count several seconds at least between the flash of lightning and the crash of thunder, but this morning they were virtually simulaneous, and the thunder sounded different than thunder I've heard before. Normally there's a "crack" followed by a "boom" but because the lightning must have been hitting so close, there was basically only hugemongous booms. Thankfully I've never experienced what it must be like in battle, but that's what it sounded like...like I was under an artillery bombardment. One second a massive BOOM on one side, that literally shook the house, then another BOOM a few seconds later on the other side of the house. That was the first time I've experienced a thunderstorm I'd term "scary", although I wouldn't describe myself as being "scared". Perhaps if the booms had gotten any louder or if they had lasted much longer then I might have started getting scared. I've never been scared in a thunderstorm before. My English grandmother used to get very scared by them. I remember her hiding in her basement, crouched down with her hands around her ears. I awoke from a deep sleep, lied in bed, and was mostly filled with awe, (but with mounting concern too as the thunder and lightning intensified).

Another bee update...just put the bee on the windowledge outside. She was alert and moving around so I knew it was time. It's still pouring and there's still lots of thunder and lightning going on but she's peacefully just sitting on the ledge, where it's dry. She's a smart bee. She knows bees don't like to fly in the rain.

It was weird when that initial loud clap of thunder happened this morning. One moment I'm fast alseep, (dreaming my usual X rated naughty dreams), , and the next I'm wide awake, but simultaneously as I heard the thunder, the word "God" popped into my mind. I suddenly had the feeling like I was only a miniscule speck of dust witnessing some infinitely powerful and immense presence right outside my bedroom. Most impressive but also very humbling. Talk about a wake up call from on high. It certainly got my attention. That's also the first time I've ever experienced something like that and the reason I felt compelled to write this entry. I consider myself religious but in my own way and not when it comes to organized religions of any kind. In fact I'm often horrified and disgusted when it comes to the things humans do, and have done, and will do, in the name of religion...ALL religions. There's a lot of intolernace, close mindedness and self rightousness out there. I'm into tolerance, acceptance and respect...respect for people with different viewpoints or different coloured skin, respect for nature, women, children and little bees that may be in need of help.

Shine on.

Gary



A happy 4th of July to all my American friends.






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