Excited to learn something new

It started with potatoes. A bunch of us were sitting around the table, whittling and creating a mess of wood chips.
Someone across the room asked if anyone knew how to grow giant potatoes. I told him that I didn’t know, but that I would find out. I have never grown potatoes in my life, but I love a good challenge.
Thus began a search that was less successful than I had planned. The next time I saw him, I gave him a leaflet about potatoes. It was compiled by the extension office. I added a few notes on the last page of the printout and translated my scribbles for him. I related other tips I had gathered in my research and cautioned him that giant vegetables often sacrificed quality for size. I also told him about a couple of upcoming programs at the local library where he could ask questions of the extension agent. Personally, I prefer tiny, new potatoes to oversized tubers, but he hadn’t asked about that.
Somehow, this led to a discussion about bees, as the gentleman in question is a local bee expert. I know even less about bees than I know about giant potatoes. I learned that he paints his queen bees to make them easier to spot. I’m guessing that they don’t wear glittery, little tiaras or have signs over their heads spelling out Q-U-E-E-N in flashing neon.
I’m still not sure exactly why this is important, but I do know they don’t submit to this voluntarily, nor do they come when called. He sneaks up on them with a paintbrush in his hand. When he spots the queen, which is bigger than the other bees, he dabs a bit of red paint onto her.
I considered suggesting a royal purple, befitting her elevated status, but maybe red is easier to see. He didn’t mention anything about getting stung so maybe queen bees like a bit of red paint to jazz up their outfits.
The discussion turned to bee reproduction, the roles of males and females in bee society, and exactly how honey is produced. I can tell you one thing, it is not wise to think about this stuff as the process of creating the world’s original sweetener isn’t the most appetizing thing in the world.
I learned more in that discussion than I ever knew was possible to know about bees and still only gleaned a fraction of the information that was hidden in his brain. I had forgotten how much I relish learning something new. It is more energizing than anything else I can think of.
Some people get feel-good endorphins from exercise. Not me. Exercise only wears me out. On the other hand, adding to my vast store of useless knowledge gives me a natural high that nothing else can duplicate.
I doubt if I will ever paint a queen bee. I have no intention of raising the tiny creatures, now or at any time in the future. I can see no practical purpose for knowing anything about how bees reproduce.
Nevertheless, learning something new put a bounce in my step and a smile on my face. I had forgotten how good that feels. If you are curious about bees or even potatoes, I can connect you with experts in their fields.
The point of all this is that everybody has something that energizes them. For me, it is learning something new. For others, it may be running or some other form of exercise. Some may get excited about a new purchase, or the discovery of something they have been looking for.
We tend to get lost in the routines we have created, but every once in awhile we find that little source of bliss that reminds us that life is good and even casual acquaintances can put a bounce in our step.

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