Faulty Memory
The experience wasn't like I remembered.
Yesterday we rode the motorcycle to town, had coffee and a scone and rode out Lake Mary road to Mormon Lake. It was a beautiful ride - good road, yellow wild flowers, a calm lake, blue skies, bobbing ducks, circling vultures, pleasant temperatures, dare-devil squirrels racing across the road -- a perfect ride.
I was riding with my face mask up. We were near the end of Upper Lake Mary when an insect narrowly missed the windshield, barely missed the corner of my glasses and smacked into the tight opening between the side of my face and the helmet. I smiled when it happened because it's happened before. Normally there's just a mass of bug remains to wash from my face and the helmet. This time was different.
I felt a tickle as the bug struggled to move. I held the throttle with my right hand, took off my glasses with my left hand and attempted to scrape the insect out of my helmet by inserting the left ear piece of my glasses into the opening above my right ear. It didn't work. I tried a second time. This pushed the insect down and into my ear where he began to struggle and buzz.
I decided it was time to stop and remove my helmet. Once I had the helmet off I put a finger into my ear to remove the insect. That was a mistake. The first attempt resulted in a sting, the second in the eviction of the bee and the third in the removal of the stinger.
Here's the part that wasn't like what I remembered. I've been stung several times but it's been many years since the last time. A bee sting is a minor thing, a slight pain, a little irritation that lasts for a few minutes. That's what I remembered but that's not what I experienced yesterday. It was more than a slight pain. It lasted for hours before it began to subside. Today my ear is swollen and itches.
There was a curious side effect last night. I put ear buds in both ears to listen to music so Julie could read in silence. I could hear much better out of my right ear. Strange! I switched the ear buds to see if that made a difference. It didn't. I don't think bee venom improves hearing. I think my swollen ear caused the ear bud to fit more snugly and improve the volume.
In the end I have no complaints. It could have been worse. Over the years I've ridden without a windshield and made the mistake of yawning at fifty-plus miles per hour. The impact of a large bug in the back of the throat is memorable. About this my memory isn't faulty.
Yesterday we rode the motorcycle to town, had coffee and a scone and rode out Lake Mary road to Mormon Lake. It was a beautiful ride - good road, yellow wild flowers, a calm lake, blue skies, bobbing ducks, circling vultures, pleasant temperatures, dare-devil squirrels racing across the road -- a perfect ride.
I was riding with my face mask up. We were near the end of Upper Lake Mary when an insect narrowly missed the windshield, barely missed the corner of my glasses and smacked into the tight opening between the side of my face and the helmet. I smiled when it happened because it's happened before. Normally there's just a mass of bug remains to wash from my face and the helmet. This time was different.
I felt a tickle as the bug struggled to move. I held the throttle with my right hand, took off my glasses with my left hand and attempted to scrape the insect out of my helmet by inserting the left ear piece of my glasses into the opening above my right ear. It didn't work. I tried a second time. This pushed the insect down and into my ear where he began to struggle and buzz.
I decided it was time to stop and remove my helmet. Once I had the helmet off I put a finger into my ear to remove the insect. That was a mistake. The first attempt resulted in a sting, the second in the eviction of the bee and the third in the removal of the stinger.
Here's the part that wasn't like what I remembered. I've been stung several times but it's been many years since the last time. A bee sting is a minor thing, a slight pain, a little irritation that lasts for a few minutes. That's what I remembered but that's not what I experienced yesterday. It was more than a slight pain. It lasted for hours before it began to subside. Today my ear is swollen and itches.
There was a curious side effect last night. I put ear buds in both ears to listen to music so Julie could read in silence. I could hear much better out of my right ear. Strange! I switched the ear buds to see if that made a difference. It didn't. I don't think bee venom improves hearing. I think my swollen ear caused the ear bud to fit more snugly and improve the volume.
In the end I have no complaints. It could have been worse. Over the years I've ridden without a windshield and made the mistake of yawning at fifty-plus miles per hour. The impact of a large bug in the back of the throat is memorable. About this my memory isn't faulty.
posted by Paul at 9:34 PM
2 Comments:
Your experiences defy discription, yet you do! LOL!
I'm glad you're okay. The last bee sting I had was excruciatingly painful. My foot was swollen so badly that I could not walk on it for three days. A doctor told me I had developed a strong allergic reaction. I worry a bit when a bee buzzes me now.
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