nature is a teacher

the other afternoon i made it home from work a little early, which is usually the case because i try to show up at least an hour and a half early every day. i kicked off my shoes and sat on the couch with the front door open and a slight breeze blowing through the screen door.

it was nice. the birds were singing.

all of a sudden outside i see this blur dart from the left side of my field of vision to the right. then a small puff of dust from our drive way. it was almost at this exact point in time when my neighbor was pulling into her drive way. our drive ways are right next to each other.

she never exits her vehicle. she is watching events unfold, just as i soon will.

i get up from my comfy spot on the couch to observe life on the exterior. lyler has caught something. i tell him to leave it alone, although quietly because i know it is a waste of the minimal effort that i am making.

my neighbor notices me standing inside watching and begins to wave her arms and make motions of disgust. i smile and nod.

lyler has noticed me at the door and decides to bring his gift to me in person, so to speak. he has not finished his job at this point. he lies down directly in front of the door with an air of incomplete satisfaction. i try to open the door to let him in, but he tries to bring his present with him. i close the screen door so no one can come in.

as lyler is distracted by me and the screen door someone is trying to limp away, trying to get to safer ground. not so fast mister. in my mind i can hear lyler say these words.

i sit back down on the couch to think about what is happening in my front yard.

soaring high, the epitome of freedom, the wings of everything that man wants, snatched from the sky and mauled by a cat with no front claws making the best effort possible to show that he appreciates the guy who dolls out his food and gives him a warm place in the winter and cool water in the summer. a sacrifice has been made.

after an evening the body is gone and there is no evidence of these events. a passing stray cat or dog probably ate the remains, so all was not wasted. quite contrary really.

i lied about no evidence left. i was a witness, as was my neighbor in all of her arm swinging and mouth covering from safe inside her car. those disgusting neighbors with their mean old cat. i think that is probably what she was thinking, maybe she even voiced that opinion to her husband.

memories. memories and photos go hand in hand. it is left to the viewer to determine the relevancy of both.

rest now, little bird. your life was not wasted. food to some, appreciation to others, maybe an example of where not to go to your winged brothers and sisters, a lesson taught for all to learn from.

such is life.