And other stinging insects.

• Age 8: I sat on a bee at a party; I'd gone into the woods behind the house and sat on a log. I never saw the bee.
• Age 10: I sat on a yellow jacket at a friend's picnic table. When I jumped up, the yellow jacket crawled onto the deck and my friend's dog ate it.

For a long time, I thought that would be it, but then...

• Age 24: I was standing near a yellow jacket hole when my mother set it on fire; one of the yellow jackets apparently escaped and stung my arm.
• Age 25: A wasp crawled in my closed window and hid under my pillow; when I moved the pillow in my sleep, it stung me.