Now, I've been called the "bee's knees" once or twice in my life, but not once did I ever think that I might one day be some sort of bee whisperer.
That is essentially the role I took on when I applied to be a beekeeper with American Bee Control.
The Tucson-based company rescues honey bee colonies, "humanely removing them from most any unwanted location," according toits Facebook page.
My goal today was to save these winged creatures, all the while avoiding the painful sting of rejection from my future new bosses.
The first thing I learned: A lot of this job is dressing for the occasion.
The gear covered me head-to-toe; a baggy white uniform taped to my shoes at the bottom.
There were a lot of items to put on.
My colleagues did me a solid and made my hat custom.
"Does that say my name?" I ask. "Yay! How cool!"
The layer upon layer, including three pairs of hand protection, made me more than nervous.
"I'm so scared," I said. "I'm getting claustrophobic."
But it was for a good cause: Keeping me sting-free (and of course, saving the bees. Duh).
After getting fully dressed, we made our way to a large outdoor grill where the bees had set up shop.
"Whatever you do, don't scream," one of my colleagues advised, like a tagline from a horror movie.
"I can't scream?" I ask. "That's like my specialty."
I gently opened the grill door.....and out came the nightmare fuel; Hundreds of bees flying everywhere.
I kept my screams to a soft, continuous moan.
"I see it now," I said. "So many bees."
But we had a job to do. We were safely going to relocate these little guys.
"I feel them," I said. "I feel them."
The good folks at ABC gave me a special vacuum to suck them out of the grill.
"I just want them all gone," I said.
"They are just buzzing all over."
It was harrowing, but we got the job done.
After the vacuum, we had to clean out all the old honeycomb. They were stuck in there.
"It goes so far back," I said. "It's sticky. Oh, my gosh."
I worked out a few more chunks and I was done for the day.
With that, free from stings, I asked the question that I was dying to know all day.
"Are you hiring or firing Heidi?" I asked.
"You're hired," my new coworker replied.
By then, I was having second thoughts.
"I don't want the job," I said. " I was so scared. I was terrified."
I think I'll just let the professionals handle this one.
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Heidi Alagha is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Heidi spent 5 years as the morning anchor in Waco where she was named the best anchor team by the Texas Associated Press. Share your story ideas and important issues with Heidi by emailing heidi.alagha@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
