01 May Plan “Bee”
At first glance, the few bees buzzing around home plate appeared to be no big deal.
Our family, seated along the third base line at the Diamondbacks’ home game, watched as the people on the field did little dances of avoidance around the bees, swaying from side to side and waving their hands in front of their faces with their fingers flicking gently through the air.
As the bee commotion intensified, the announcer’s voice boomed throughout the field, letting fans know there would be a delay in the start of the game.
There was now a swarm of thousands of bees that had clustered at the top of the foul net behind home plate. The entire section behind the net was cleared for safety, and the operations team scrambled to call local pest control companies and coordinate with MLB officials, fearing a postponement.
These tiny creatures had brought everything to a halt.
The fans looked at their phones and ate hot dogs—waiting was all they could do. The players and managers paced and did some stretches—waiting was all they could do. The mascot, Baxter the Bobcat, put on a spiderman suit and flexed as if he was going to save the day but then quickly changed back into his Diamondback’s jersey—waiting was all he could do.
Meanwhile, the bees huddled around their queen. More and more gathered atop the foul net.
Hope rose when an orange scissor lift appeared and was positioned next to the net, signaling that someone was coming to help to humanely remove the bees. A short while later, a beekeeper arrived to a standing ovation as Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero” played throughout the ballpark. Fans cheered and clapped wildly as the beekeeper put on his protective suit and hat.
Surrounded by protective equipment and supplies, the beekeeper went up in the scissor lift, neutralized the bee swarm with a non-pesticidal solution and gently sucked the bees into a vacuum for offsite relocation.
Applause erupted and giant screens flashed “THANK YOU, BEE GUY!” and cheers followed as the beekeeper exited the field. Two hours after the original start time, the beekeeper threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the game began.
Things don’t always go as planned, such as how the game went for the Diamondbacks earlier this week. In moments of uncertainty—including the unusual situation of not being able to start a baseball game because of a swarm of bees—it is helpful to begin by pinpointing the obstacle standing in the way. While it might not always be as conspicuous as a buzzing swarm of bees guarding home plate, we can begin by identifying even the smallest barriers standing in our way. This empowers us to strategize potential ways to overcome them and ultimately paves the way for progress.