Whats the best thing about bee keeping?

From time to time I am asked about bee keeping and what its like and my typically disappointing reply is that its more time consuming, hard work physically and more expensive than people think.
The Beds Beekeepers web site says:-

One person in Bedfordshire wrote, “After the first year, I knew everything. By the end of the second year, I knew some of what I needed, and at the end of the third year, I realise finally that I know nothing. I could have easily given up on several occasions… support at that difficult time was appreciated enormously.”
A beekeeping magazine says, “We have a duty of care to our bees and if we don’t try to understand their needs, treat them properly and relate to their behaviour and maladies, we really should not be in charge of them.” [I particularly agree with this]
An international journal quotes, “75% of beginners give up beekeeping within three years.”

Although well intentioned people often want to keep honey bees to 'save the bees and save the world'.
This is despite that fact that  two-thirds of people cannot recognise a honey bee, honey bees are not very good pollinators [we worry about the wrong bees] and .in this country at least, despite growing pressures, honey bees are holding on OK and have increased in numbers.

Honey is what seems to interest people and I often think if it wasn't for honey most people couldn't care less about honey bees.
To go to the effort, time and expense of keeping bees just to produce honey for yourself  is a waste of time and effort - its much cheaper and easier to buy it at a supermarket or farm shop.

So, why do it?

Apparently you can now get the internet on computers which has led to the growth of forums [fora?]
This supposedly involves people with a common interest exchanging views and advice. Supposedly.
In reality it often involves sad lonely angry people who consider themselves experts and are patronising rude and offensive to people asking reasonable questions, saying things they would never dare to say face to face.
The main bee keeping forum is possibly the worst example of this I have come across so I don't post anything but occasionally just look at the thread titles to see if there is by some chance something of interest.

Recently there was a thread 'Whats the best thing about bee keeping?'
The most popular choice was honey and its production. Fair enough. I have no interest in honey other than to the extent it affects the bees ability to survive the winter, but most bee keepers sell their honey through a variety of outlets.

The next most popular reason is the idea of being able to 'outwit' the bees. Beekeepers have this conceit that bees are contrary creatures and its a constant intellectual battle to try and anticipate what they will do next..If they want contrary they should meet my spaniels and chickens

There were numerous other suggestions but only one person said what I would have suggested.