One good masked laugh deserves another,
I did a similiar thing once. I was transporting Bee hives from VA to PA inside an Izuzu Trooper. THe hives wouldn't fit in the back all as one hive so I had drop the rear seat and set the Supers inside seperated. I stapled screens to hold the rest and set the doors open so the strays would come land on their hive. After a few minutes I closed the doors. By the time it was done I had tens of thousands of loose bees in my Trooper.

The bees stayed near ther boxes as I had their Queens caged. However, I used to keep a fairly aggressive strain to reduce my bear problems. So just as a measure of precaution I wore my bee suit for the whole ride. It was fun going over rail road tracks they sort of raised up and down like a wave in a stadium. The moon kept them fairly active and headlights from tailgaters really got the hives angry.

So I took to trying to figure out what kind of music calmed the bees and what riled them. They hated Arlo Guthry, liked Buffet and Blue Grass Mixed reviews on the on the classic rock. Mixed reviews on anything I tried to sing. What kind of lulebys work on a hive of bees? Any case it was a hot night so the bees were fanning making for a constant monotenous dull roar. After setting the music to sooth and cracking a window for fresh air. I'm heading up through the hills and dales playing Winnie the Pooh drives a truck load of honey through Appelachia.....

All would have been uneventful except....I was driving through Fredrick MD. It was Friday night and the Main strip becomes the local hang out cruising loop. IT was 2 AM in the morning when a pickup truck of teenage girls pulled up besides me at the red light. There are pretty girls on hay bales in the back. Poured in tight fititng jeans are hanging over the rails and more fresh faces are waving up front. They have their tunes up and they are a gaggle of appelachia's finest blossems out for a night of prowl. They pull up to the light next to this silver Trooper in hte left lane, on it are six antenas, tinted glass, with a music and a male figure in it.....

Now gang I'm not ateenage kid, and even more thn that I'm not dressed for the occasion.... I was turned away, sunk down in my bucket seat. Try not to be noticed.... Glad for window tint etc. Not wanting to make a scene. However the young lasses start gunning their Dad's old Chevy big block squeeling his tires tires hooting and hollering and..jack lighting my truck. And doing all the things of proper appelachian social protocol to invite a young feller to a good appelachian introduction and a request for a drag race. All of this was an interesting situation, but the bees even if they were all male, were really hating the jack light, the noise and generally wanted to be left alone.

Well, being a wise old feller in his high 20's, driving a Trooper with a 3 liter 4 cylinder alumnium block with 150,000 bees friends in the back isn't exactly my ride of choice to win on the strip. And I needed to get contoll of the situation to cal, my hot buzzing mad bee hives calmed down. So I rolled down the passager window leaned forward turned towards them. ANd in a white suit, big black mask under a huge white helmet, Big yellow rubber gloves with Tvek elbows I gave that truck load of young gals a big friendly over sized wave.......and the scare of their life.

THeir excited hoots and hollers and alluring smiles instantly turned to a dozen or so faces of frozen horror. I guess I looked like the alien from heck traveling to the toxic waste dump with a load of radiation stew. The driver hit the gas peeled out of sight girls falling ad reaching for anything to hang on to as they accelarted back to the safety of Dad's carport, I'm sure.....and as ther tail lights got smaller very fast.... I was left toodle quietly through Fredrick Md at 2 AM in the mornin, with my 150K side kicks up to their new hive site.

For the next 250 miles the only thing louder then the buzz of the bees and the blue grass music was me. I couldn't stop laughing.

Safety gear is indeed a worth investment, and Being dressed for any occasion, especially those awkward social situations is just so important.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

!RUSS