The hornet swatting begins today

In last Saturday's entry, I mentioned that my wife and I were off to swat a hornet. Here are my observations about the contrast between flies and hornets.

My years of living in the country and dealing with insects taught me the following.

A biting fly hurts when it bites, but it doesn't have any worse weapons, so it will fly away from the least sign of a swat. Unlike the fly, a hornet will sit there when someone approaches it with a flyswatter, because it will sting instead of fleeing. Consequently, a well-aimed swat will always catch the hornet, while a fly might still escape.

This lesson can be applied to people as well. If you encounter an opponent that's like a fly, you'll have to be quiet, swift, and lucky to hit them, as they're primed to evade. On the other hand, if you run into an opponent who is like a hornet, you all it takes is a solid swat, preferably with a large foreign object, such as a book, to find its target, as the hornet won't budge.

The hornet swatting begins today. It should be done by the end of the week. I'll tell you about it then.

Until then, if you want a hint about the nature of the hornet, look at the kitty.