The dark side of summer

When the clock struck 12:00 am on May 1, I instinctively shivered with delight. As I watched the last few minutes of the Spurs game on TNT (they beat the Nuggets - of course!), I subconsciously realized that the long slumber of winter and gentle awakening of spring were suddenly swept away by a hot blast of summer's wind - metaphorically speaking, at least. True, with all of this rain lately San Antonio could almost be its own water park, but I'm sure once the sun comes out, it will be lovely.

Ah, summer in Texas...not many people would eagerly welcome such a thought, but I'm a girl who likes to see the changing of the seasons. Summer brings such happy memories flooding back all at once - the beach, family vacations, ice cream, cookouts, Six Flags, days off from work, getting tan, and reading - for fun! With all of these wonderful things, what's not to like?

However, there is a dark side to summer, one that most people know about but no one discusses. It is a personal phobia of mine, a paralyzing fear that sends me scurrying away at a moment's notice. The terrible pestilence of...wasps. Yes, those dangerous little flying balls of pain and terror have the knack of ruining even my most fantastically fun of days. When I see one, a sense of dread quickly settles in my stomach. I hate the sight of the droning, stinging insect, but I can't look away - after all, if I take my eyes off of it for an instant, I may lose sight of it and then it could easily sneak up behind me. Wasps do that, you know. They can smell fear, and they immediately head towards it, as though drawn to the scent. Swatting and flailing your arms does little good. The best thing to do is to run away...cowardly though it may seem.

Some people think I make too big of a deal out of this fear. After all, I have never even been stung by a wasp. I guess it is just the fear of the unknown. At any rate, I don't intend to start letting my guard down anytime soon.