About a year ago I wrote a review of Russ Roberts book The Choice: A Parable of Free Trade and Protectionism. It is still the book I recommend to non-economists who are trying to come to terms with the issues of Free Trade. It is a fair and no-nonsense explanation of the benefits and issues. According to a recent post at Cafe Hayek, Russ is coming out with a New Edition of the book. Read my review. Buy the book.

Steve

Currently the only blog I read is Cafe Hayek run by Professors Don Boudreaux and Russ Roberts. I don’t even read Fat Triplets these days. Russ has just posted about his podcast of an interview with Chris Anderson, the author of The Long Tail and editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine. Scott, FT1, has been bugging me about this Long Tail stuff for about a year and now that one of my favorite economists has taken it on, I will have to make it a priority.

Steve

The last several years I have had the privilege of living near my father. The word that springs to mind when I try to think of the most prominent characteristic of my relationship with my father, surprises even me. It is friend. My father has been an amazingly available, capable and faithful friend.

I recently called on my father for a task too daunting for me to take on alone. Hornets had built a nest under the soffit of my house. Hornets! Nasty, angry, aggressive creatures. It was actually rather interesting. They built it right outside a window on the side of my house that is about 20 feet up from the ground. You could bang on the wall and watch them swarm. I took this threat seriously. Dangerous pests were assaulting my castle. And one of the princesses of my household is allergic to bee stings. My mind followed this grisly progression: stings, screams, tears, anaphylaxis, asphyxiation, death.

Being a modern man, I am quite aware of the modern anti-hymenoptera strategies. Wasp and hornet spray is available 1/8th of a mile from my house at Ace Hardware. The problem is that the nest was quite high. My mind followed another grisly progression: ladder, spray, puff of wind, missed target, swarm, flailing arms, loss of balance, falling, impact, fracture of the C-3 vertebra, paralysis, death. I am sure there are a 1000 ways hornets can kill.

I did not have to think about who to call. Dad was at the house in less than 5 minutes can of Wasp and Hornet Spray in hand. Dad really is like my own personal cavalry. I can picture my dad tossing the can in the air, two or three spins between tosses. The image is not at all unlike the image of cowboy spinning his Colt six-shooter and deftly re-seating it back in his holster.

The can boldly and confidently asserted a shooting distance of 25 feet. Good, we should be right under the limit. I told dad to wait so I could watch from the window. “Safely watch”, I am thinking to myself. But either for over-enthusiastic marketing or the weather the spray would not reach its target. Dad came up to the room with spray in hand, open the window and removed the screen. The hornets didn’t like this. Surely not, I am thinking to myself. The self-preservation instinct takes hold and I find myself backing towards the door. I think maybe I will close the door behind me and leave dad with the bees. But some quiet element of self-respect and dignity kicks-in and I hold my ground. Dad leans out the window and directs the stream of poison towards the entry hole of the paper nest. Hornets are dropping like flies.

Dad packs his things and leaves. But as it turns out the job was not finished. The instructions stated that you must cover the entry hole of the nest. And because of an awkward spraying angle we manage to soak the area around the entrance but not the hole itself. The next morning the nest is as active as ever. I send dad this email:

Dad,

I think our attempts to take out that hornets nest failed. We still have a very active nest. I think the problem is that it is not possible to really spray their hole from our window. I applied a full santa’s beard worth of the spray and then looked at it from the ground and it was not covering the entrance hole at all. Any ideas? Should I just call an exterminator?

Be careful if you take it on without me. And remember that Emily is allergic which means that a bee sting can be deadly for her,

Thanks,

Steve

I returned home from my trip and the job was done. The nest was down. No hornets around. I asked dad how he did it. �I sprayed the nest and knocked it down�, he answered nonchalantly. I was hoping for a more elaborate answer. But that was it. And I didn�t probe further.

Such are the mysteries of hornets and fatherhood. In my father, there is a deep reservoir of quiet confidence, competence, compassion and love. He has been a faithful and sensitive companion to my mother for over 45 years. And my father has always been there for me. I cannot recall my father ever spurning a request for help. He is a true friend indeed.

Steve