A Candle That Keeps on Burning

I like the bag. 

I'll re-bag it some day with a gift inside.

For now, I'll put it away in a safe place, probably one so safe that it will go unnoticed for years to come.

Maybe when Willie and Annie have to clean out my earthly goods, they'll find it with the "gift" inside. 

Actually, I did not receive a gift at my friend Marilyn's final neighborhood barbecue.  

I won the prize.

First, No. 72 was drawn.

Nobody had No. 72. 

I yelled out that I had No. 71.  

Oddly enough, either by fate or carefully planned design, the next number called:  71!

Unbelievable sequence of drawn numbers.  Maybe Marilyn didn't mix up the numbers very well.  

Maybe she carefully schemed it that way. 

Whatever the case, I won the last-ever door prize/gag gift at the Burning Tree Ranch summer potluck.  

Amazing I even stayed long enough to win a prize.  

Marilyn had many more guests than she had invited.  These rude freeloaders showed up and hung around the food throughout the party.

And there were hundreds of them.  Must be they saw on Facebook or Twitter about the "party at Marilyn's."  

Anyway, they competed with all the invited guests for samples of chicken, Mexican dishes, salads and oodles of fresh desserts.  

They even took a few choice bites directly from the invited guests, myself included.

Yup, third bee sting in two weeks.  This time I must have moved fast enough to sustain just a surface bite out of my hide. 

In spite of the obnoxious and ravenous uninvited guests, those of us who had received invitations in our mailboxes endured through the evening.  

I can easily say a fun time was had by all because in between swatting and occasionally performing my own version of "the sting" dance, I hardly stopped talking throughout the entire party.

Bill and I met some nice new friends, one couple who had just moved to Selle a month ago and another who know about the sport of geocaching.   We also enjoyed reconnecting with several other familiar regulars at Marilyn Chambers' neighborhood gatherings. 

So back to my prize.  

I walked to the deck and admired the bag, noting so out loud. 

Marilyn had already announced that this was a "one-of-a-kind" gift.  

For a time, only Marilyn and I and some family members knew the stunning significance of what was inside the bag.

Another candle!  How odd!  How bizarre! How possibly planned in advance!  

"I like the bag," I again announced to Marilyn and the invited guests.   For some reason no bees came to inspect my prize. 

Who knows if this "lucky" moment for me was just a coincidence----that I should receive two candles from the Burning Tree Ranch in two weeks.  

I guess I'll never know for sure, but I do know that the onus now lies directly on me. 

I've got work to do, double the usual. 

It will take time, but eventually I'll figure out some new ways and new transformations to keep the candleS of friendship burning brightly over the years ahead with my dear and "generous" chum, Marilyn. 

Right now, candles must wait as we all figure out how to get through the days ahead without feeding our flesh to the flash mobs of hungry bees. 

Nasty creatures this year, for sure!

Happy Monday.