Consider The Honeybee
My phone started going crazy one afternoon with text messages and emails from my local beekeeping community stating that a tractor trailer truck hauling 450 commercial beehives had overturned and the driver was trapped inside. Traffic is shut down just east of the Nashville airport and right off of interstate 40. I jumped in the truck and headed to the location that would come to be known as “The Great Bee Escape”.
Upon arrival I had to talk my way past a couple Tennessee State Troopers who had the road the blocked several thousand yards from the crash site. I then drove past a large portion of the local police, fire, and ems crews and parked my pick up truck just beyond the busy swarm of 25 million displaced and angry honeybees. There were already around 50 beekeepers suited up and working to put the load of hives back together. I quickly put on my bee suite and jumped in the mix of volunteers from the Wilson County Beekeepers Association and Nashville Area Beekeepers Association.
The driver turned out fine however the tax payer and economy suffered. “The Great Bee Escape” was a 36 hour operation. I worked for about five hours and had to call it quits after taking around 50 bee stings even though I had on full gear. A few of the beekeepers worked around the clock and should receive a medal for their service and have a short film documentary made to tell the story of why we should all pause for a moment to consider the honeybee.