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Look, Up In The Sky


No wonder it was unsettling. The sound was formidable. Yet I couldn't keep from looking up. What I thought was an unusually loud group of crows gathering in the trees at around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon turned out to be a rather large flock. First I saw two trees full then extended my gaze and took in three more trees, all topped with gathering crows.
Hard not to think of Hitchcock's "The Birds" when earshot of large groups flying overhead. And do you know what the proper term is for an unusually large bunch of crows? No not a flock, or even a gaggle; it's a murder of crows. Apparently, in large groups, crows will turn on one of their own and kill it if need be. Very human-like aren't they?
I tried counting these crows, but gave up because I didn't want to be underneath them for too long. You understand the danger there. I know it's supposed to be good luck to be shat upon, but I'll just leave the luck collection to my truck. All birds seem to find it easily, especially after it has recently been washed. There were probably close to 100 crows by the time I walked by. So what's the deal? I think it has to do with the sun. We had more sunlight today than probably the last couple of weeks combined. Many of those crows had probably eaten well for the first time in awhile. Probably just a lot of after-dinner conversation. I should have known something was up when I saw seven robins this morning gorging themselves on little red berries growing on a nearby bush. It's not Spring yet, not even close. Just the promise of Spring in a few months.

II.
Today the media is awash with the good news of the U. S. Air crash into the Hudson River "miracle." How wonderful that all who boarded the plane have appeared to exit it. This kind of happy ending is so rare that it bears marking. It occurred to me also that on this evening, when "W" makes his farewell address, and Obama is poised to take the helm that this miracle flight is an omen. With tragic air crashes the defining moment in the Bush administration, let's hope that the ability of the human spirit to survive, as it did today, will foreshadow the next eight years.
Promises to keep...
promises to keep...
before I go.

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