The Bumble Bee Bus

The Bumble Bee Bus pictured above pulling a boat was how we spent our summers at the lake.  On the other side is a painted a flower and bumble bees.

We grew up in NE South Dakota and had a number of lakes to choose from, but our favorite seemed to be 4 mile lake.  We would take the bus and rent cabins and spend the weekend with all the Aunts, Uncles and cousins that were around.

I have to tell you about one of my most memorable weekends.  It all started with a night crawler and my favorite Uncle Richard (RIP).  He would pick on me mercilessly (all in good fun), but this particular time he got me good or maybe it was me that got him.

He bet me that I couldn’t or wouldn’t bite a night crawler in half. If I did he would give me $5.00.  This was a lot of money back then.  So the bet was on.  I thought about it all day.  Just the thought of biting into that icky thing was enough to make me gag.

The pestering and pushing went on all day.  Back and forth.  A lot of prodding from everyone that was there. A lot of laughs were always had on these trips.  This lake by the way was full of chiggers, leaches, and moss.  But when you are a kid who cares.  We would jump in that lake all day long.  Leaches will come off with a bit of salt pored on them and chiggers can be treated with Calomine lotion.  Remember that pink stuff we all used when we had the chicken pox?

Above is my Uncle Richard and My Aunt Elaine who still is my favorite Aunt today!  Love you Aunt Elaine and miss you Uncle Richard.

Anyway, that evening around the bonfire, I finally decided to do it (night crawler).  Every one watching.  My Uncle Richard was smiling ear to ear.  So I did it, but not in half, but in 3 pieces and spit the middle out.  It wasn’t quite what I was supposed to do, but I did do it.  Uncle Richard picked on me and said I didn’t do it right, but gave me the $5.00 anyway.  Guess it was enough to see me try to bite through that worm.  They are tougher to bite through than you know.

So the moral of the story is:  always treasure a wonderful memory even if it didn’t taste good.