格伦·沃森

GlenWasson

Oneafternoonafewsummersago，Ihadbeenclearingbrushinthemountains；forseveralhoursanddecidedtorewardmyselfwithlunch。Sittingonalog，Iunwraedasandwich1andsurveyedtheruggedscenery。Twoturbulent2streamsjoinedtoformaclear，deeoolbeforeroaringdownaheavilywoodedcanyon。

Myidyllwouldhavebeenerfecthaditnotbeenforaersistentbeethatbeganbuzzingaroundme。Thebeewasofthecommonvarietythatlaguesicnickers。Withoutthinking，Ibrusheditaway。

Nottheleastintimidated3，thebeecamebackandbuzzedmeagain。Now，losingatience，Iswattedtheesttothegroundandcruncheditintothesandwithmyboot。

MomentslaterIwasstartledbyaminorexlosionofsandatmyfeet。Mytormentoremergedwithitswingsbuzzingfuriously。ThistimeItooknochances。Istooduandgroundtheinsectintothesandwithallmy210ounds。

OncemoreIsatdowntomylunch。AfterseveralminutesIbecameawareofaslightmovementnearmyfeet。Abrokenbutstilllivingbeewasfeeblyemerging4fromthesand。

Beguiledbyitssurvival，Ileaneddowntosurveythedamage。Therightwingwasrelativelyintact，buttheleftwascrumledlikeaieceofaer。Nevertheless，thebeeketexercisingthewingsslowlyuanddown，asthoughassessingthedamage。Italsobegantogroomitssand-encrustedthoraxandabdomen。

Nextthebeeturneditsattentiontothebentleftwing，raidlysmoothingthewingbyrunningitslegsdownthelength。Aftereachstraighteningsession，thebeebuzzeditswingsasiftotestthelift。Thishoelesscrilethoughtitcouldstillfly！Igotdownonmyhandsandkneestobetterseethesefutileattemts。Closerscrutinyconfirmedthebeewasfinished—itmustbefinished。Asaveteranilot，Iknewagooddealaboutwings。

Butthebeeaidnoattentiontomysueriorwisdom。Itseemedtobegainingstrengthandincreasingthetemoofitsreairs。Thebentveinsthatstiffenedthegossamerwingwerenearlystraightnow。

Atlastthebeefeltsufficientlyconfidenttoattemtatrialflight。Withanaudiblebuzzitreleaseditsgriontheearth—andflewintoariseinthesandnotmorethanthreeincheasaway。Thelittlecreaturehitsohardthatit；tumbled。Morefranticsmoothingandflexingfollowed。

Againthebeeliftedoff，thistimeflyingsixinchesbeforehittinganothermound。Aarentlythebeehadregainedtheliftinitswingsbuthadnotmasteredthedirectionalcontrols。Likeailotlearningtheeculiaritiesofastrangeairlane，itexerimentedwithshorthosthatendedignominiously。Aftereachcrashthebeeworkedfuriouslytocorrectthenewlydiscoveredstructuraldeficiencies。

Oncemoreittookoff，thistimeclearingthesandbutheadingstraighttowardastum。Narrowlyavoidingit，thebeerecheckeditsforwardseed，circledandthendriftedslowlyoverthemirrorlikesurfaceoftheoolasiftoadmireitsownreflection。Asthebeedisaeared，IrealizedthatIwasstillonmyknees，andIremainedonmykneesforsometime。