Christopher Donahue

Several months ago, the amazing invention known as the internet informed me that, somewhere on the Indian sub-continent, an elephant was hit by train. This was really bad news but I did the irresponsible thing and resisted the urge to get more information.  I didn’t click on the link to see a picture and my inner voyeur was disappointed.

Recently, I read about an Australian  woman who swam in crocodile infested waters and was unsurprisingly “taken” by a croc. Crikey. A few weeks after that, there was the child eaten by the allligator in Florida.

Then there are the shootings. The mentally ill shooting people, terrorists shooting people., mentally ill terrorists shooting people, cops shooting people, people shooting cops.  Before the shootings in Orlando, a bomb went off in an amusement park in Pakistan killing more children in one blast than have been lost to alligators all year. (My estimate).

Death and suffering aren’t really news are they?

The headlines are enough for me.

Copyright 2016 Magnus Incognito

Early Spring has arrived and the weather has been fantastic. Last Sunday, I got up early, put some seeds on the ground for the birds like I usually do, then went to church.

When I returned,  the small flock of birds that gathers everyday to eat the seeds got startled, like they usually do,  when I walked down the driveway. They departed in a sudden whoosh up into the nearby bushes and trees. But then, I noticed two little birds laying on the ground at the start of the driveway where it meets the street.

The two sparrows were dead. I was puzzled and went to the garage to get a shovel. Picking the two up on the shovel blade,  I examined them more closely. No blood or wounds, so a cat hadn’t caught them, or the hawk from the nearby park. And they were a beautiful pair. A male and female. The female was all mottled brown and the male was the same except for a black and white cap. They looked plump and healthy except they didn’t move and their eyes were cloudy white. The little, fine-feathered-fragile machines had stopped.

One of the most basic attributes that differentiate humans from animals is that we bury our dead. I took the two sparrows over to the front hedges and lay them down on the grass while I tuned over a spade full  of dirt. Then I placed them in the ground and covered them up.

I felt bad. The beautiful pair of sparrows must have been killed by a passing car as they swooped in from across the street to get the seed I  put out. Were they mates? Rushing together to feed, build a nest? There would not be any Spring for them. Not anymore.

Later in the week, bundled against a cold breeze on an early Spring morning, I darted through a city park back to the office. In the center of the park was a big, ornate fountain.  The water had long been shut off for the Winter. As I hurried by, a beautiful pair of sparrows popped up on the rim of the fountain. A male and female. Their wings fluttered for an instant and the two flew off. Before I  could even think about hat I had just seen, another pair alighted and took flight just like the first.

I felt better about everything in the wh0le wide world and hurried off to work in a great mood.

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s consent.

copyright 2016 Magnus Incognito