On The Road South

Riding on a very familiar road, I found myself fascinated again. I am amazed at how something so familiar can become fresh simply by peeling away the sheet metal and rolling through it on two wheels, instead of the usual four. No room for conversation with anyone but myself, the miles pile up and I see llamas and sheep drinking water in a nearby field. The driving habits of others are magnified and I find myself looking into the lives of strangers as they push their coaches through the muted morning sun. Some focused on the task at hand as intensely as I am. Others, seemingly,

lost in the stormy clouds of their own chaos. Finally, we arrive in Corvallis.

Time for reflection allows my mind to drift back to the previous events on our tour in Portland and Gladstone. The story of Molly Bee Good is definitely shaping up to be the story of the souls encountered along the way. We ran into a wonderful set of people in Portland. A gentleman named Dennis. Older and suffering from a bevy of ailments. He tells us about his fear of falling ill. Who would take care of his wife? You can tell after all this time, the man is still in love. A woman approaches and tells of the joy in her life connected to her mother who spends all of her time outside. An avid gardener and even more unenthusiastic hobbyist she thinks of getting her mother into keeping bees. She only wishes she had the energy to participate in everything, and after hearing about the energy boosting magic of pollen you can see the light bulb come on. Her mother gets bees, she gets pollen. Win, win.

Our friend, John, loves his bees and after continuing a casual conversation he begins to talk about the greater societal ills. How our disconnect is causing people all kinds of troubles and how keeping bees may be one of the answers to reconnect and driving that loneliness away and fulfilling the desire to belong. He also understands how we can use the gifts bestowed on us by the honeybees to feel better. How we need to continue to advocate self-care and help people find those 'A-ha!' moments in their lives. We leave these people and head south filled with the optimism of every worker bee who leaves the hive in search of forage knowing that they can do their part for the better of the community. Fly on Ms. Bee. Fly on.