I can almost hear my fathers’ exasperated words in my head, “young lady, you won’t get anything out of it if you don’t even participate.” Or “how do you know you won’t like it? You’ve never done it before.” The problem for me has always beenthat I’m shy, painfully, desperately, hiding in the back of the room kind of shy. It was a hard way to grow up in a family with six kids. But grow up I did, and for the most part I grew out of a lot of the shyness (thank the stars!). I look back and realize how much I missed out on because of that little personality quirk. I can honestly say I am thrilled to be more outgoing these days, which leads me back to the topic of this article-participation.Every year in the Southern Maryland region, fair season comes in mid-September, and for three weeks in a row, the tri-counties are a-flutter with all kinds of fair-going hubbub. Folks find themselves daydreaming of cotton candy, funnel cakes, horse pulls, and if you are a beekeeper, the honey shows. It doesn’t cost a thing to participate, except your time, creativity, a little elbow grease. Plus, an ability to follow “simple” directions.My mentor is a huge advocate of participation. Not just in the fairs but in our local bee club meetings and in events that highlight and showcase beekeepers in the region. I learned from the best. (Shout out here to Greg Carey whos’ articles you have seen in this very magazine.)
展开▼
