Sophia and I had a scary moment this past Saturday.  Sophia was keeping me company while I trimmed a couple of limbs in the back yard.  She pulled on a branch that was laying on the ground that extended into the woods, as I turned to drag a limb over to the pile.  I heard her scream, and it was a little more than her usual, “Don’t leave me” cry you get when you walk away from her.  I turned and started to walk back over to her and was calling her name.  She was waving her hands up and down in front of her, and then I caught a silhouette of an insect and then another.  I ran over and grabbed her up and ran across the yard.  The hornets (or whatever they were) did not relent just because we left the area.  I was getting stung repeatedly, but I had Sophia well-wrapped in my arms.  Once my facilities returned for a second, I remembered that when bees and hornets swarm, they continue to sting regardless of your proximity.  So I ran into the house and into the bathroom.  I then exacted some revenge as I killed all of the pursuers.  I took off my shirt and I could see my back looked like I was peppered with birdshot.  I feared the worst, so I loaded Sophia in the car and sped away to the ER.  Luckily, she and I weren’t allergic to the stings (though they still itch even today.)  They counted 11 bee stings on her (there were three others hidden in her scalp that they missed.)  They started to count the stings just on my back and lost interest at 30.  I estimate (conservatively) that I was stung about 60 times.  They used their ids to scrape away the stingers, and I got a shot of Benadryl.  Everyone is doing fine, which is a relief. 

Looking back, I remember watching the B-movie (or “Bee” movie) “The Swarm” way back when I was a kid and was remarking why those people stood there and let the bees sting them.  It is strange though when your “flight or fight” response says “flight” and you run and are still forced to “fight” when you can’t even see what you are up against.   Things just go haywire.  I guess next time I see a swarm in a movie I will go a little easier on them.  :)