-Posted by Isaac

Hello World! Give me some good news!

What do you tell the next generation?

Yesterday we tried to figure that out.

We were three hours. Guest speakers at a class funded through the vocational school, designed to get kids thinking about their futures. And I thought we did a pretty good job.

Well, here… I’ll let Jayne explain. This is what she posted:

Of course the day’s topics centered around our business, but there was plenty of general advice peppered throughout all the bee talk: —Stay interested in the world, keep an open mind. —Be flexible, be malleable, quick to adjust. —Be nice, be humble, be willing to work with people. —Work lots of jobs. —Travel a lot. —Make mistakes. —Build up a nest egg while you take small risks. —Educate yourself continually. —College isn’t required, but it sure doesn’t hurt. —Same for trade schools, military, apprenticeships, or business school. —Laugh at yourself… It’s only your future.

…and so on. It was sort of fun. Kinda made me reminisce the teaching days. But in some ways it made me a little nervous, looking at all those clueless 14-year-olds, thinking about their lives to come. I tried to put myself in their shoes… and I couldn’t do it. I have no idea what’s in store for this generation. It’s scary. The world is moving faster than it was when I was 14. Back then, the teachers and parents had a better grasp on what was coming.

The tech, the climate, the politics… makes my head spin. What’s in store 10 years from now? 20, 30, 40 years? Just look at this week alone: Tornados in Nashville, ongoing spread of the coronavirus (prompting clownish tweets from the President), Super Tuesday and the rise of Biden (more tweets, childish), Bloomberg dropping out, Warren dropping out (more ridiculous tweets), the stock market plummeting, recovering, crashing again (like clockwork, the ensuing tweets… blame it on the Dems!)

This is one week! In just one country. Does it feel like we’re flying off the rails? What do we really tell our kids? Work hard? Study hard? Nose to the grindstone?? You tell me… because I’m at a loss.

Jayne kept it positive the entire time. And on the surface I guess I did too. I couldn’t show those poor kids my true apprehensions. I couldn’t give them real advice. Solid advice. But I did take some mental notes, collecting my hidden thoughts. And I’ll share some with you—

1. Find an island (preferably tropical and uninhabited) (Throw your phone in the ocean.)

2. Bring a gun, bring a fishing pole.

3. Shoot anyone within range.

Simple, solid advice for our aspiring next generation. Just the basics. And if you want to get fancy, I’d recommend a healthy stockpile of honey, freshwater, drugs, maybe some music… something classy and cultural to fit your new surroundings … Jimmy Buffet? Or better yet, something to remind you of the basket-case world you left behind… maybe some Chili Peppers, or Green Day, or Lit. Goodbye modern world, and good riddance.

Good luck kids!

By the time we left the school I was daydreaming about Napoleon Bonaparte. Remember how they stuck him on that island? —The Isle of St. Helena— exiled to the death. Was it really that bad? Don’t you think maybe he sort of enjoyed it? Felt like he’d probably done enough for his generation and deserved a break? I can’t speak for him, but I know how I’d feel. Anyway, he got an awesome song out of it.

Oh boy, sorry. I have a tendency to get worked up. (‘What’s to come, you know not… Your race, it could end, on the Isle of St. Helena.’)

It’s only our future.

Let me fill you in on this week. What’s happening on the Isle of Honeyrun?

Well, the work on the shop continues.

One more week, we should be about done.

Which is good, because it’s time to get serious about the bees.

I did some feeding this week. About half looked like the above hive. Big, strong, needing some feed to make it through. The other half were still snuggled tight, working their way up.

And the biggest news on our island…

Two birthdays! Eden turned six, Mason turned 12.

Our youngest and oldest. The next generation— heirs of our best qualities, donors of our worst. Thankfully with these two, there’s a lot more good than bad. We had small evening parties this week, and tomorrow is a big family party.

Where we’ll get to show everyone our eight new family members…

The weather is looking awesome. Hope you can make it out, enjoy the warmth, feel the sun.

Maybe sail on out our direction to build up your honey stockpile.

We won’t shoot you.