I Heard The Hawk Call My Name

Man, if I was an American Indian back in the day, I would know that there was some kind of omen about today. I have remarked before that I sometimes see more wildlife in a short walk around our suburb than I have on trips to the great wilderness parts of our continent. Perhaps it is because hunting is not allowed in the city limits, but I like to think that like us, animals prefer the warm climate and have somehow learned to deal with the environment man has made.
I ran in the house this morning after my daily run, exclaiming to the missus that I saw more exotic wildlife in the last hour than I did on our whole trip to Canada last year. There was a large hawk sitting right above me on the telephone line not far from home and then coming down our street I spied the local armadillo foraging about in the shrubs. That was a good start to the day. The cool weather, a good run, and getting to see some happy animals. I knew that this was a good sign, maybe even for the week.
I found myself ready for work early and took two steps out of the front door with the daily garbage in hand and stopped dead in my tracks. There on the edge of the roof of my house, not 30 feet away, was the large hawk. She perched for for a minute or so, staring straight at me, feathers all fluffed up, before she took wing...message delivered.

The Story of The Crow

I was walking out the front door of my house when a large shadow passed directly overhead. I ducked and looked up, expecting to see a large hawk or heron flying by, but saw nothing in the clear blue sky. Then something totally out of place caught my eye. A large black bird was perched on the edge of my roof, very close to me, with his beak wide open. He was a large as my macaw and although I love birds, this did not feel like a friendly visit. I see lots of birds, but could not remember seeing a crow around my house before. He did not seem afraid of me standing there and merely moved around the roof a bit, keeping an eye on me the whole time.
I ran back in the house to tell my wife about this giant bird, and then heard my wife screaming that there was a crow in our screened pool area. Our pool screen has a few small holes in it, but usually the only birds in there are my parrots when we take them outdoors for some weekend exercise. I was expecting to see that giant crow attacking my small conure, but instead I saw a small crow with a yellow beak trying to find his way out. He was hiding in the plants and then flying around, looking for an opening in the screen.
I quickly put the conure back in her cage and opened both doors. The crow then came out and walked around the deck to the doorway and flew away. I have not seen either bird since, but I have to wonder, was the large bird asking for my help?.........

The Day I Never Even Bothered To Hope For

My wife screamed, and I came running from the bathroom to see her with the sports section of the newspaper held up in both hands. All I had to see was the photo of a ripped young man in track clothing running towards the camera and the caption, but she kept reading the story anyway. Once I realized who he was and what it meant, I was pretty choked up. It was Marvin, the very guy that my website and music was about. The guy who knows nothing about me, but someone we talked about a lot when he was little.
When he was in my wife's kindergarten class and I was working in public schools, I saw up close and personal about the haves and have-nots, and wondered what would possibly happen to this kid with off-the-chart intelligence coupled with the worst-possible environment I could imagine in this town. Would he end up in jail for murder or would he succeed against all odds, against everything people know about education? To me, it was some kind of fundamental quest, wondering what it takes to do such a thing. We hear stories like this all the time, but this time, I was there. I read it in the paper when the police killed his dad while he was reaching in his pocket for his cellphone. I was there when another public school refused to accept him because of his behavior (I didn't know they could do that!), and all along, I wondered could his brain overcome everything else?
In a really strange twist, it must have, because it decided that sports was what he needed....just google Marvin Boone Sprinter...to read about the story I am celebrating today, the sunniest day this year yet.