Bird and I

It was in late October, 1979, an Indian Summer Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge, La. I was in the back yard cutting a sheet of plywood with a skillsaw on two sawhorses, talking to Bob Godwin, my law clerk and his buddy who had dropped by. The trees above were loaded with those migratory blackbirds that blacken the skies and fill the trees with their clatter and squawks. The noise above was so loud we had to almost yell to hear each other.

A bird flew down from the tree, skidded on the sawdust on the plywood, looked up at me and squawked. He walked to my finger, pecked on it and then began rubbing its beak in a caressing motion on tthe top of my hand. He then stepped up onto my hand, then my forearm and fluttered to my right shoulder and began pulling gently on my beard and nuzzling in my ear, while making little cooing and gravelly sounds that was like purring. At one time, the din from the tree had grown to a roar, and the bird looked up and let out a mighty squawk toward the tree. The noise instantly stopped. Not a peep from the tree. Silence.

Bob said, "That bird knows you!!" I whispered for him to get my eight year old daughter Shannon to bring the camera quick. Before they could get back with the camera the bird flew back into the tree. We were disappointed and began chattering about it.

The bird flew back down onto the plywood! He flew back to my shoulder and continued talking to me, and I knew he was trying to tell me something. Shannon brought some bread crumbs. He ate them, and I had a worm bed behind the garage I kept for fishing and I held up a long wiggling nightcrawler at the time this picture was made and he swallowed it right down.

This went on for twenty or more minutes. Fortunately there was one piece of film left on that roll. He then flew back down to the plywood, looked up at me, squawked (which was goodbye I am sure) and then flew back into the big Oak above. The entire flock lifted like a black cloud and flew away. I was in a mild euphoric shock from the experience. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever exerienced.

I have always believed that flocks of birds had a leader, and now I am totally convinced. It may be a man or woman in bird form just messing around, or whatever, but it is surely a spiritual being like us in that bird body. This event showed me that for sure.

The beginning

There is no end
Just beginnings
and games in progress
What's the score?

There are no losses
Just experience
and points on the graph
What's the trend?