{"product_id":"2940012923134","title":"The Lessons of the Wasps","description":"We were up to no good. That was typical for us 11 year olds. We were sitting across the street from the paper wasp nest. A fair distance away since the wasps were long time agitated. We had spent the last few hours throwing rocks at the paper nest. It was huge. Maybe two feet tall and a foot in diameter. So big that some of our thrown rocks lodged in the nest and didn’t carry through. The nest was about 16’ off the ground in a big tree next to the curb. It was amazing that something that big, in plain sight, had originally escaped our vandalous attention.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere were 4 or 5 of us. Neighborhood kids. We’d throw a rock and then run. The wasps would fly after us. I got stung once. Hours passed, there was not much to do beside torment wasps.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe bus passed the wasp nest and pulled up at the corner. We could see one man leave the bus as it pulled away. He was dressed in a suit and had a briefcase. He started walking down the sidewalk toward the overhanging nest. We hesitated. Fate was tempting. He was a safe distance away when I called out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You better look out, mister. “There’s a bee’s nest under that tree”. He hesitated.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Now boys”.  I didn’t bother the bees, so they won’t bother me.” Wrong.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFurther explanation, reasoning, a second warning, these were skills we neither had nor cared to try. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe walked toward destiny.  He was just under the nest when a black cloud of wasps descended. It was so thick with wasps, the outline of his head and shoulders disappeared. A muted scream could be heard. The briefcase rose into the air. He started to run. The cloud moved with him. He was enveloped. Faster and faster he ran. The wasps still trailed. You could see his face and shoulders now. His hands slapped his face and neck in windmill motions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe laughed and laughed. It was hard not to.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe disappeared down the sidewalk and around the corner. Out of sight towards his house. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe discussed what to do. The wasps were still buzzing under the nest. The briefcase lay on the sidewalk almost under the nest. We decided to wait. Eventually the wasps were no longer in sight. We talked about what to do about the briefcase. Two of us cautiously approached the hanging nest. A wasp or two was near the nest entrance. We dashed towards the briefcase, grabbed it and ran. Safely away, we headed down the sidewalk towards his house.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was awkward. What to do? We rang the bell. His wife answered. He was visible behind his wife. His face, neck, hands covered in white plaster substances. He was whimpering in pain. We offered the briefcase. His wife took it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“We told you”, we said. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You didn’t tell me you bothered the bees!”. Somehow he knew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe beat our retreat out the door and away. Far, far away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA couple days later a truck pulled up in front of the wasp nest tree. I man got out and put on a suit and mask. He had some blowtorch equipment and lit up the nest. It burned like a fireball. Dead wasps were all over the sidewalk and lawn. A few of our rocks - no longer nest bound - fell to the ground.","brand":"Jay Helwig","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145474490608,"sku":"2940012923134","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012923134","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}