Payback

It was 99 deg F today in some parts of my general area. Maybe a little cooler up on Ballistic Mountain. But hot is hot, and it was hot. I decided to go to the overlook off of I-8 to make a phone call and generally get away from myself.

I'd been there awhile, I guess, and when I tried to start the car, the battery did not have enough energy to do the job. Yikes, I'd been sitting there with radio on, key in accessory position and headlights on. I'm thinking I may have had my foot on the brake as well, which means the brake lights were drawing current.

Good thing I had my trusty booster battery/air compressor. Not such a good thing that it wasn't fully charged and wouldn't do the trick.

As luck would have it, a guy in a Lexus had pulled in nearby and walked over to see what was up. He once had a subaru forester and loved it. OK. We had something in common.

Mr. Lexus seemed to have a fear of bees, though. These little wasps or bees were buzzing all around. He was trying to eat a sandwich and left almost half of it sitting on its wax paper on the wall there because these pests were attracted to it and he was afraid of being stung and eaten alive by bees.

I am unusually NOT afraid of wasps and bees. I have no idea why. Almost all other creatures scare me more than I like to admit. Anyway, I went over and did what I could to terrorize the creatures but Mr L no longer wanted the sandwich. There is no trash there, so I produced a trash bag and dealt with it.

He must have been grateful because he let me charge my booster battery off the 12 volt outlet in his car. After about ten minutes I tried successfully to start the car using the booster battery. His generosity saved me a lot of trouble.

I say payback because I have used that booster to jump maybe two cars and definitely one motorcycle at that very spot. Not sure if I used the pump to inflate anyone's tires there, although I know I have in other places, like Descanso. It was pretty cool that when I was in need, the help was right there with no waiting at all. And I got to explain my theory of how one shows bees who is boss and induces them to spread the word.

He was given the very cryptic abridged version.

I did refrain from sharing the story of my first war with yellow jackets on Morrow Mountain in NC. They were beginning to annoy me and really freaking out others that day, many years ago when I was in my early twenties. Finally I managed to kill a few by hand and with a rock. I managed to secure their dead bodies to the ends of little sticks and posted them between my rightful turf and theirs. I saved one to toss right to the edge of their domain as a warning.

Those yellow jackets did not torment anyone within a 30 foot radius of me for the rest of the afternoon. Of course the witnesses to this were convinced I was out of my mind, so they, too, avoided any conflict or contact, with me and my friends. It wasn't as if I'd snuffed some of them and staked them up. People can be so judgmental and cruel.

I was not one of those mean looking overaged punks, so it hurt my feelings just a bit. Even my friends were a little concerned that I would bring on the wrath of the wasps, and feared for my sanity. Seems like some girl among us was on my side and knew I was king of the bees. Back then I think the support of females was much more evident in my life than it has been in the last far too many years.

Anyway. I have had bee battles since then and have had my way with the bad bees. Good bees I salute and bid them go in peace. Wish I had such confidence with bears, raccoons and other snarly mammals.

At least I got the car started and managed to get home without incident. I have to do something to make it cooler in here while we experience our dry, hot, hot season.

Payback was not a bitch in this instance, but a man in a Lexus, and rather pleasant.