Ever since I became a columnist for the American Bee Journal — back in 2017 — my husband, Rich, has been clipping columns from various old-car magazines and leaving them on my desk. He rates the writing as good or bad, funny or sad. Whatever comes to mind. This annoyed me at first — I hate piles on my desk — but the clippings have been insightful. I may have even learned a few things about old cars, something I don’t readily admit.
Rich’s current favorite column is “Between the Lines” by Mike McNessor, editor of Hemmings Motor News. I agree, it’s fun to read even if you think an old car is a greasy waste of space. But Mike’s February 2026 piece was truly inspirational for me. He wrote, “I’d like us all to consider this column a sort of first meeting of an Anonymous Garage Pants Support Group. It’s a safe space, a nest if you will, about two legs, a zipper and some pockets. I’ll go first …
“My name is Mike and I have a problem with garage pants.”
So, in the spirit of follow-the-leader, I will start this column the same way:
“My name is Rusty, and I have a problem with bee suits.”
The backstory
The truth is simple: I loathe bee suits. Then again, I sometimes need one — or think I do — at least for certain jobs, the jobs sure to stir the bees’ hair-trigger tempers.
The first suit I ever purchased was a zip jacket with an attached veil. I thought it would be sufficient for a backyard beekeeper with just a few hives and no plans to expand. That jacket, which I used for years, was the most miserable garment I ever owned.
It had one of those veils with plastic hoops that conveniently collapse against each other. And collapse, they did, right against my face, allowing bees easy access to my nose, chin, and forehead. Worse, the elastic on the bottom of the jacket snagged onto my shirt and pulled it up, exposing a three-inch patch of bare skin above the waistband of my jeans. Bees adore this particular target: warm, delicate, and stingable. And best for the bees, it got results. Once the stingers flashed, I fled the bee yard like a bystander in a bikini …
