Our Story

Bananas and Bee Stings


Paw was a tall man. He was well over six feet tall but he was very thin. She used to think it was so funny to look at Maw and Paw. Both were tall, but Maw was much.....bigger than Paw. They made her think of that Jack Sprat poem she heard in school.

She really liked hanging out with Paw.

They had two things in common bananas and Reese Cups. They LOVED them!!

She knew that any time they were going to Paw's house, there would be a bowl full of bananas on the kitchen table and a good supply of Reese Cups in the fridge.

Maw and Paw lived in Kentucky on the side of a mountain...literally. For many years, Mommy and Daddy had to park at the bottom of the mountain and everyone had to carry there suitcases up the mountain to the house. It was a great day when her grandparents had a driveway put in!!

Somehow Paw always knew when they would be getting to his house. As soon as they would come around that last big curve, she would start looking up the mountain for Paw. There he would be standing...smoking one of his Camel cigarettes and holding two bananas.

She knew she should probably help Mommy and Daddy with the suitcases, but Paw was smiling so big and waving at her...she just had to run give him a hug.

It wasn't long before everyone had gathered around and said hi and gave out hugs that she and Paw would go set on the edge of the yard talking and enjoying their bananas.

"How's school going?"

"Okay."

Munch, munch.

"Did you get sick on the drive down this time?"

"A little."

Munch, munch.

She wasn't talking too much because she was looking at all the bees that were on the wildflowers and clover.

"Paw, why do you have so many bees?"

"Got a lot of mouths to feed. The honey comes in handy. Don't you like my bees?"

"Not really. Remember last time I left my shoe on the porch and one got in my shoe and when I had to go to the bathroom I put my shoe on and it stung me on my toe and my toe swelled up so big that Mommy had to go buy me some flip flops cause my toe wouldn't fit in my shoe?? I don't like your bees at all!!"

With that, she jumped up, threw her banana peel over the hill, kissed Paw on top of his head and ran in the house to find Maw.

Maw let her go in the fancy living room and read, but after a few minutes of turning pages in her favorite book, she found herself thinking more and more about Paw's bees.

He had so many boxes of bees on the hill behind the house and it seemed like every time she was at his house someone was in a tree catching more bees or standing over the boxes with a smoke box and something covering their faces stealing the bee's honey.

She thought that was really mean. Those bees had to work hard to make that honey and Paw was stealing from them all the time!!

Maybe that's why those bees were always mad and stinging folks......

A few days later found her running around outside playing with the dogs and running in and out of the smoke house with some new treasure to beg Maw out of.

Maw was busy helping Paw steal some honey and she soon tired of the little girl's energy.

"Why don't you go find your Mommy and see what she's up to?"

"Can I have another Reese Cup?"

"You and your Paw have eat them all. But if you'll go sit with Mommy while we steal this honey, we'll go up to IGA and buy some more a little later."

That did it!

A promise of getting to sit beside Paw all the way to IGA to buy more Reese Cups!! She was off to find Mommy.

She found Mommy and her aunts sitting on the porch letting their hair dry.

They were talking and laughing and it was funny to her to watch them.

They all talked at once and laughed about everything and she thought they were just plain silly.

All of a sudden Mommy jumps up and screams, "A bee just flew in my hair!!!"

Mommy was slapping at her hair and the aunts were trying to calm Mommy down and find the bee. All the time, the little girl just stood there wide eyed.

By this time, Maw had come running to the front porch to see what all the screaming was about.

Finally the aunts convinced Mommy to stand still and they managed to get the bee out of Mommy's hair.

That bee was really mad though and he needed someone to sting!!

All of a sudden the little girl let out a huge scream and grabbed her eye. That stupid bee had stung her on her eyelid!!!!

Oh her eyelid was hurting so bad and she just couldn't quit screaming. Nothing Mommy did could make it quit hurting and the little girl was jumping up and down and screaming and screaming!!!

All of a sudden Maw grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "If you don't quit screaming, I'm going to get my switch down and whip your rear end."

That was all it took. She'd never been whipped by Maw's switch, but she'd seen her aunts and uncles get whipped and she knew she didn't want any part of that!

Maw managed to get the stinger out of her eyelid and she put ice on it to help the swelling, but the fact was her eyelid was swollen shut and it would hurt for several days to come.

Maw and Paw kept their promise and a few house later they were on their way to buy more Reese Cups and bananas.

As a woman, she can laugh about it now. It has honestly become a funny, warm memory to her heart.

And every time she eats a banana or a Reese Cup, she goes back in time to when simple things were the most fun......