A Sanity-Restoring Walk... After Quarantine Restlessness
What man needs is fresh air, fresh air, fresh air... Dostoevsky says in his dark masterpiece, Crime & Punishment. These words are, especially, meaningful in this surreal time of global lockdown.
I cannot recall the last leisurely walk I took -- days, weeks? -- but, I was overdue for some fresh air. The initial plan was for my wife and I to take the car out and drive out by the beach.
But, trying to start the car, we discovered that our battery had died (no great surprise). So, I put on my face mask and, along with my wife, decided to take a walk instead, by the river near our home.
As a child, I would never have imagined how soothing bird-watching could be... hyper-active as I was and, always, itching for action and distraction.
But now, in my middle age, a good outing is one where I spend some time with feathered friends — whether it’s our peacocks or chickens, a cockatoo while out taking a walk, common grackles strutting about in the street, herons perched in a tree or ducks swimming in the river near our home.
Even though there seems to be an influx of hawks, lately, in our neighborhood -- I suspect these fierce, winged predators are used a way of keeping my beloved pigeons away — yet I cannot help but admire their terrible grace and proud demeanor.