I had the privilege tonight of playing the part of Scoopy the Bee for a group of children. It was truly a terrific time and I was glad to be a part of it. I don’t want to give out a lot of detail here, because I admit that I don’t fully understand “the rules.”

Suffice it to say that it was a Christmas event for children who are going through some terribly tough times. They and their mothers are being protected from abusive spouses; they’re essentially in hiding. (What a world. I can hardly imagine.)

Now I’m not into Christmas myself, but a truly great friend gave me this opportunity and I flew at it. While Mark apologized for sticking me in this hot suit — trust me, I’ve been in swimming pools that were drier and saunas that were cooler — I’d have felt stung if he hadn’t asked. It was one of the highlights of my year. (Okay, okay, I’ll admit I could’ve done without the otherwise cute little gal who was getting her kicks from smacking my antennae, but it was still great fun.)

These kids were incredible. Some of you may not know this, but bees don’t talk. Little kids are another story. They don’t seem to stop talking. And I’m not normally much of a kid person. Abi from SunPig gave me a terrific quote recently that pretty well sums up my thoughts on kids: “I like kids. I just don’t think I could eat a whole one.”

But it’s not every day you get to see Scoopy the Bee and Santa together. I don’t (yet) have the picture of Scoopy sitting on Santa’s lap, but as soon as Mark sends it to me, I’ll add it to my Photo Gallery with the other Scoopy pictures. Meanwhile, you’ll have to satisfy yourself with photos I had taken before the kids showed up.

Scoopy had a great time. How could he not? After all, when you fall into a hive filled with honies like the friends on the right, you can’t but beelieve the world is a wonderful place.

I’m tellin’ ya: I’ll be buzzin’ all night!