It happened again, like it happens every summer. Charlie was out doing yard work and got stung by yellowjackets. He was trimming a shrub and his ladder must have hit a nest or poked a hole or something and out they came. I was taking a nap and he was working on the other side of the house, so I didn’t hear him yelling.
When I got up, I found him dead asleep in the Barcalounger. He was some groggy when he finally woke up.
“Charlie, you don’t seem yourself. What’s up?”
“Got stung by some yellowjackets. Came it here and went to sleep.”
“You didn’t think to tell me?”
“No, you were napping.”
“Charlie, that’s dangerous. You coulda had a reaction.”
“I was tired, so I lay down.”
“That’s my point. Did you take anything for it?”
“Nope.”
Honest to God! So I gave him some ointment and a Benadryl. And I got out some ice packs for him to put on the bites, but honestly, there were so many. All big and red. Poor Charlie!
I’ll let him tell you about it.
The Yellowjacket Two-Step
Be careful in the yard
Wherever you go
Wherever you weed
And wherever you mow
If you stumble upon
Their nest, uh-oh,
You’ll be doin’ the Yellowjacket
Two-step
Hoppin’ around in
Howling pain
“Ow! Ow! Ow!”
Was my refrain
It’s a dance you’ll never
Wanna do again
The celebrated Yellowjacket
Two-step
Each summer, I swear,
It happens to me
I must have been a sight
For the neighbors to see
“Looks like Charlie
Got stung by a bee,
Wow, maybe two or three!”
I dropped my ladder
And ran for the shed
Huffin’ and a-puffin’
And filled with dread
Wherever I was bitten
Was flaming red
All I wanted was to lie in bed
Now purply blotches
Are all I got
They don’t hurt none
But they itch alot
I still gotta get
My ladder back
Without suffering a new attack
So, be careful in the yard
Wherever you go
Wherever you weed
And wherever you mow
If you stumble upon
Their nest, uh-oh,
You’ll be doin’ the Yellowjacket
Two-step
The celebrated Yellowjacket
Two-step
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Déjà Vu All Over Again