Mom Was Right This Time

Looking through old photos, I came across one that brought back painful memories. I remembered exactly how I ended up in the pitiful condition displayed on the old black and white photograph.

As a small boy, my mother was always giving me warnings about the dangers that lurked in the world and how to avoid them. One of her warnings was not to poke a wasp nest with a stick or they will sting you.

Well, it was a warm summer's day. I was a four year old with lot of spare time on my hands, and I had a stick. A short time later, five of their mightiest warriors made a beeline (or waspline) to my face and laid those stingers in. If you've ever been stung by a wasp, you know how painful it is but five in the face, ouch!
My face swelled so much that I couldn't even see. The swelling had gone down some before they made photographic evidence of my folly. As fun loving as my parents were, I don't think they would let a blind kid run loose in the yard.
Some things you believe, some you learn from experience. All I know is that my mother was dead right on this wasp thing.