As I was turning onto the on-ramp this morning I noticed a winged, bee-like insect walking across my windshield. My first thought was, “you better take off now or you’re done for”. I felt an unaccountable compassion for this creature who was about to be battered by gale force winds as I spend down the interstate and briefly considered turning on my windshield wipers to encourage her to fly away. I determined that this course of action would most likely result in the death I was hoping to avoid and so I left it up to Fate.
As I merged into traffic and accelerated to 65-70 mph I noticed that she was standing still and holding on for dear life, wings and body flattened against the windshield. Against seemingly impossible odds she stood fast throughout the interstate trek of my journey. After exiting the interstate and reaching my first red light I assumed she would take wing. Instead she started slowly walking across the windshield and quickly had to readjust to death-grip mode as I was off again.
The closer I got to my office the more desperately I wanted her to hold on. I found myself encouraging her…out loud…to just hold on a few more minutes….we’re almost there. Amazingly enough she was still holding on as I pulled into the back lot. I parked, shut off the engine, and anxiously waited to see if there remained a semblance of life in this otherwise unremarkable insect. After a few seconds she stretched her wings and then soared off into the trees. It was utterly amazing and triumphant. Despite daydreams of a more ironic ending in which she launched herself at me upon my emergence from the vehicle and stung me with wild abandon I was quite pleased with the end results.
Just hold on.
Very nice piece, Carl. I liked it a lot. Touch of whimsy and wonderment. Put a smile on my face.
🙂 (proof)
Cool…
and true to boot! (except I don’t really know the sex of the bug)
Thanks for the nice comments guys. 🙂
That’s nice Carl! Did you see that guy blow by you flipping you off for gliding into his lane while you were day dreaming? Just kidding
What a lovely piece. It made me smile, too. What I’m wondering is how you decided the bee was a female?
That happened to me once, except it wasn’t a friendly-looking bug. I couldn’t believe how it would turn into the wind to avoid getting too ruffled.
I do wonder how much attention I was paying to the bug versus the road while I drove though.
Oh Carl, I love this post. I love the fact that you encouraged her. I love the fact that she hung on and I love the ending.
Cute story. I’ll think twice next time before turning on my windshield wipers.
Thanks again!
Oh, I think you need to get a digital camera. You could’ve taken a pic of this courageous
insect for all to see.
I like the cute drawing you chose, though!!! Adds character.
Funny, Mike! 🙂
Pat, the picture, from The Spider and The Fly, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, helped determine that the bug was female.
I agree Julie, a digital camera is a must…there are tons of things I regret not having instant pics of to put on this site.
Thanks Michele, Nick, Julie, and everyone. I was all excited to write about this as soon as I got to work this morning and by the time I was done dealing with morning stuff I had forgotten about it until I got home tonight.
She must have had her destination in mind, and it must have been a worthy one.
That may have been the case Jay! I was just inexpensive transport.
That’s excellent.
And her (since you so decided) resilience is commendable and let it be a lesson to you all, people…!
pretty much sums up how i feel about bugs who get too involved in the too-big world of windows & doors, “inside” vs. “outside”.
i hope she wasn’t hopeless lost, she’s cute.
🙂
Lost or not she is in the vicinity of a mental health center now so I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not!
Had she actually been holding an umbrella I would’ve invited her home.
And there is a lesson in there…something about holding on maybe….or it could be a warning against climbing around on other people’s windshields when they are driving.
Hi Michele sent me.
Good to hear you cheering for the tough little beastie. Unity among all.