Burnham Society Podcast: The Smell of Clover

A new podcast, with a new story.

The Smell of Clover

This is based on a Japanese legend that I'd read in a early 20th century edition of The Journal of Folklore that I'd found in the Harold Washington library many years ago. It was an easy story to translate into a street story for Faire, and has always remained a favorite of mine.

When a bee stings you, it's a decision to protect the hive. When a bee stings, the barb enters the skin, and the thickness of our skin keeps the barb from retracting, yanking the whole stinger and venom producing organ out of the bee's body, after which the bee subsequently expires. The organ however will continue to inject apitoxin through the stinger after the bee has left. As one-shot weapons go, it's pretty devastating for both sides. I consulted Randy about what would be a similar weapon in the human world, and for pure power and disproportionate devastation, he came up with a variant version of the Barrett XM109 Anti-Materiel rifle . Our modifications were to remove any recoil protection whatsoever, make it a bolt-action (one-shot), and some cosmetic changes.

As of 2011, the Chicago Honey-Co-Op's Fillmore location, which was the basis for the end of the story, is no more. But here are some pictures.

And here's where George thought he was going. Located under the Tribune and Wrigley buildings, the Billy Goat Tavern was a haven for journalists and politicians...In other words, trolls. The Billy Goat is also famous in a 51st ward sort of way: When Billy Sianis, the owner of The Billy Goat was ejected from a 1945 World Series Game at Wrigley, his curse: 'Them Cubs ain't gonna win no more', remains effective to this day.