Bees and pet peeves

The bees are dying. A big black one upturned on a sewer grate, the kind imagined from Africa where wild things still grow excessively large. Over the weekend, Pat tried to save one from a swimming pool, but after he set the creature on dry land, it stung him anyway and died. Maybe he was scared, I said. Maybe he thought it was Pat’s fault he was drowning. If you look at the big picture, it is our fault.
—
I’m growing unreasonably annoyed with people, inconsiderate people mostly; the ones on the train blasting rap music from their phones, the bass popping and hemorrhaging ill-equipped speakers. Why is it always rap music? No one ever blares classical, indie rock, country? Fucking and bitches and caps – their patrons mouthing along, the children staring. Buy some headphones at Ross for $5, leave the music for your head. It’s OK to be alone there.
We have newer neighbors, a family of women with a one year old, right below us who do this same thing: thump thump thump thumthumthum. Early on it was all hours of the day, once at 11 PM on a Wednesday, once at 7AM on a Sunday: thump thump thumthumthum. We can never hear the music, just the bass beating irregularly like heart failure. After the first couple times it happen, I wrote a note, stuck it on their door that said: THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE BESIDES YOU IF YOU CONTINUE TO SHAKE THE ENTIRE BUILDING I WILL AMASS AN ARMY AND WE’LL TELL ON YOU TO THE OFFICE. TAKE THAT. YOUR MUSIC IS TERRIBLE AND YOUR POOR CHILD WILL BE DEAF BY THE TIME SHE IS THREE.
I knew they were trouble when I went to do laundry one Sunday and they disassembled their entire speaker system and set it up next to the washers.
I think really bad thoughts about them … like ‘please run out of money and get evicted.’ I want our quiet, single smoker again. The worse thing we’d do is shut the patio door on him. But, oh these women, they sit around the parking lot, the benches always bumping’ like they own the bitch. I’m tempted to try voodoo, but I think it’s dangerous to dabble in dark magic when you’re pregnant.