Bumble Bee

There I stood before the Gate Agent – I didn’t have a boarding pass. The young woman standing slightly behind and to the right of me stepped up to essentially say she didn’t have one either. The Gate Agent replied, “Interesting” as He looked at us. There seemed to be a long pause. Maybe He was just as mesmerized as me by her unbelievable beauty. What did she look like? Her hair was dark with the most uniform curls I’d ever seen. Curls like waves in the ocean. There was a glow about each strand of her hair that emitted an effervescent golden tone. The right side of her hair was pulled up by burette in the image of a Bumble Bee.

I looked at the Gate Agent. He put His hand on His chin and said, “I’m putting my two bumble bees together.”

That was kind of Him; however, in my mind I was of no comparison in beauty. I was at least thirty years older with crinkly gray hair. Fast forward . . . we ended up flying next to each other. I remember He called her Héloïse. At first I thought it was Elouise, but the Gate Agent made sure to pronounce the first syllables in our names clearly followed by a breathy “Eh” or was it an “Ah” sound. None the less, “Interesting accent” I thought.

I remember thinking, “This is going to be a long flight” and I didn’t want to go. I wondered to myself, “Should I talk to her? Nah.” It could be said, I connected to the WiFi to pull up a story I stumbled upon about Florence Nightingale. The article was not a surprise to me, I’d already been cornered and lectured on the subject. [I put out a large sigh.] I didn’t realize Héloïse was in tune to my reading pleasure, but she was. So, I said out loud, “So sad, people have forgotten how to forgive and just love one another.”

After landing, I found myself on familiar ground with an unusual announcement heard overhead. What was said? Maybe you’ll know if you read my blog post, The Dark House Wants Light.

While I’d never forgotten the Gate Agent, I had actually forgotten Héloïse . . . that is . . . until we met again.

Reflecting on the Evidence

1. Explain how you would put aside your personal bias to love someone else as much or more than you love yourself.

References

Beck, M. (2023, June 17). Bumble Bee [Photograph].

Beck, M. (2023, May 9). The Dark House Wants Light. Time Traveling Nurse. https://timetravelingnurse.blog/2023/05/09/the-dark-house-wants-light/

Rasmussen, C. (2022, April 28). Are bumble bees dangerous? AZ Animals. https://a-z-animals.com/blog/are-bumble-bees-dangerous/

Stake-Doucet, N. (2020, November 5). Beyond Florence. Nursing Clio the Personal is the Historical. https://nursingclio.org/2020/11/05/the-racist-lady-with-the-lamp/

Special Thanks

Alicia Marangoz, fellow artist, reviewer, and editor for Bumble Bee.