"Where are the bees?"

one of the elderly residents asked. She is confused. We tried to explain but she was still worried about getting stung.

I was in the "lounge" area of one of the local nursing homes. There had been the all important phone call earlier in the morning to say that J... was feeling up to doing the even more important job of drawing the raffle tickets out of the "hat". 

J...is "one hundred and one and two months and eleven days" - well make that twelve days now. He was born on the island where the bees are. It was quite by chance I found him and learned his history. He is still alert. He certainly knew about the bees. His father occasionally helped to care for them and young J.... went along to watch.  They left the island when J... was about to start school. 

"Long time ago. It's all different now," he told me. He went back several times in the course of his work. "But I haven't been there for years...I'm too old to be doing anything like that."

Perhaps he is. I wonder if he would even recognise the place. I am not sure I would. Brother Cat took his children once. They did all the tourist things and probably managed to learn a good deal but it was different even when they went - and that is some time ago now.

But the bees are still there and they are more important than ever. We were prepared to have J... draw the raffle. Their simple "church" service over the residents sat around in a circle and listened with varying degrees of interest as I explained what we had done and why I had asked J... to do the job. Then the staff member in charge produced the paper bag "hat" and J....managed to get one ticket out. I could see it was an effort but he gave me a smile. I made a call to the mobile number on the ticket and told the voice at the other end.

"It's not my ticket. It's I....'s. He will be thrilled. Do you remember? You said something to him in his language... I didn't understand."

I do remember. He was a very shy African refugee who gave me $2 from his very limited funds because, he told me very softly, "bees are important". I asked him where he had come from and then thanked him in Swahili - his first language. It is one of the few words I know and can remember and being able to say "thank you"  never seemed more important.

J... managed to get another ticket out but the winner was not answering the phone so I left a message. No doubt she will be in touch later. I really don't care very much at this point because I... came with the woman who answered the first call I made. He was obviously feeling overwhelmed. 

"Jambo. Furaha?" I asked. ("Hello. Happy?") His eyes lit up at that. They left a little later with I... clutching his prize blanket tightly. As he went to get into the car he called out softly again, "Asante."

Asante sana I.... I know you will value that blanket more than most.