MARTIN COUNTY, FL-- Just outside of Indiantown, there is a buzz in the air.
It's the buzz of cash for gold, golden honey that is, and Richard Spinale has been in it for a while.
"My brother-in-law, Bill Rhodes, started the business over thirty five years ago, and I think I was his first employee," said Richard Spinale, owner of R&R Honey.
But he didn't "stick" with it.
"After getting stung enough times, I decided there must be a better way of making a living," said Spinale.
So he tried some other things.
"I went into the banking business and learned a lot in that industry, learned more about business and how to run a business," said Spinale.
But recently, he had a change of heart.
"When you work in those stressful environments for an extended period of time, you know sometimes you just want to get back into something that's a little bit more back to nature and simple," said Spinale.
But it's not always that simple. For example, if you are wondering whether honey bees are more docile that other types of bees, I can tell you first hand, they are not! Within the first few minutes of viewing the hives, I received on sting behind the ear, and one right on the top of my head.
Still, Richard loves every minute of it.
"And when you see the honey coming out of the hive, you know it's just this golden color, it's so rewarding really," said Spinale.
So you might be wondering is the honey business pretty sweet right now, or are honey producers getting stung?
"Well, not so much the economy hasn't," said Spinale.
What has is the infiltration of foreign processed honey into local supermarkets.
"I think it's very important for the public to support local and American made honey. By doing that they're supporting the U.S. economy," said Spinale.
So out here, it's business as usual, and a return to the banking world looks pretty unlikely.
"No, I think I'm done with that. I think I've found a niche that I am very happy with," said Spinale.
To visit Richard Spinale's website click here.
