Subject: You Can't Take That to the Bank - Beekeeping Philosophy

From: [email-masked] (Charles Howe)
Date: Sat, 15 Oct 1994 18:53:30 GMT

The following story was first published in the Connecticut Honey Bee
in February 1994. Several people have suggested that I post it to
this newsgroup. Although not all of us are Christians, as Norm is, I
think there is a message for us all.    
       Chuck Howe 

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  | Chuck Howe - Editor                     |
  | Connecticut Honey Bee                   | 
  | INTERNET - [email-masked]     |
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YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT TO THE BANK
- Norm Farmer -

My church friends tell me I should not gamble. My answer to them
might be something like, "if I can't gamble I will have to stop
beekeeping, because it is for sure a gamble." My friends like the
honey I present to them from time to time so maybe they will call
beekeeping not a gamble but, "a risky worth while endeavor." the only
real worth while gamble is when you win at least, most of the time.

With beekeeping I feel most of the time this is indeed the case, but
many times we can't take our winnings to the bank because they are
not in the form of cash money. However, the rewards are really great
at times, like when we see a child's honey filled mouth attempting to
smile. When you ask the child if the honey is good, they might just
say something that sounds like "yum, yum".  Your honey couldn't
possibly get a better complement than that. Or, maybe when I
demonstrated the workings of a colony of bees to a young lad. When
it was over he could think of only one thing to tell his Mom and Dad.
"I found the queen! I found the queen! The queen of England could
not have rated such importance. The glitter from the crown could not
make his eyes light up more.  Yes, he found the queen and he ate
some honey and in one hour he was about two inches taller. he now
stands stout. He has a constant smile on his face. What a man. He
found the queen.

When I walked the young lad to the bee yard I walked under the low
hanging limb of a tree. When we returned from the bee yard I hit my
head on that same limb. The limb didn't seem to be that low before.
Do you think maybe I also grew a little or maybe I was just walking
tall for a while. I know I felt rich or maybe I felt blessed. Yes, I
have been blessed over and over. I work close to nature which I
dearly love and I look forward to one day seeing the King of Kings.
That's why I have a smile on my face. You see I am very rich. I'm a
beekeeper and I love what I do. We can't take all this to the bank
because its much better than money or gold. The bank's money can only
fill our needs for a little while. What I have is forevr. Yes, I am a
beekeeper, a very rich beekeeper and most of all "I found the King."

Want to get rich quick? Get some bees and a bible, study both and
just let the rest happen. Let's get back to the important things. Let's
give credit where credit is due. Let's remember the source of all our
blessings.

Thank you and God bless. Norm Farmer.

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From: [email-masked] (Norman R. Paterson)
Date: 19 Oct 1994 08:27:59 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Charles Howe <[email-masked]> wrote:

[sickly story and preaching deleted]

This sort of stuff makes me want to vomit.

-Norman