I'm Confused - Did I Hear That Right?

Have you ever felt like this duck - a little confused?

I just have to share this story.  Have you ever had times when you just weren't quite tracking with what was going on?  I know I have had many of them so I don't want this to be a put down in any way.  It just struck me funny how one person can say something and people  hear it so differently!  So here goes...we were in Beekeeping 101 class and since the class is only for 6 weeks you can imagine how much information the instructors want to cover...

At one point we had been talking about  American Foulbrood and how you need to burn everything if you want to totally eradicate it from the hive.  Then right before break we were discussing how and when to move your bees if you needed to.  We took a short break and class resumed and out of the blue a question was raised something like this.  "So if I have my bees  located on another property and they call me to say it is not working out and I need to come move my bees.  Do I just burn my bees if I don't have any other place to take them? 

Now one of the teachers is a kind, gentle man who has been keeping bees for over 40 years.  He almost didn't know how to respond.  He just said, "What?"  It was quiet for a few seconds while everyone was trying to process this question, and then he said, "No, no, no, no, NO - don't burn your bees - they are precious".  At this point half of the class was saying, if you don't have a place for your bees, just call us - we will take them for you!

I just hope the man who asked the question got it right by then.  It would be a tragedy if he really thought that is what he needed to do with so many people trying so hard to INCREASE the honeybee population! 

As I said I have had many times when I didn't quite "get" what was going on, so I guess it is a good thing he asked his question!  Has anybody else been asked a great question like that when trying to explain all the wonders of beekeeping?