Winter bird

I was trudging back to my car after work Wednesday afternoon. I wasn’t really thinking about much of anything. That’s when I saw it out of the corner of my eye; a large bird flying around. It appeared to be some kind of white gull. It seems odd to see a water loving bird like this so far inland, but I see them sometimes hanging around downtown by the river.

It was a winter’s day, but this bird was flying around without a care. I thought about what a hardy bird it must be; hardy enough to live through a Midwestern winter. What a strong bird.

The bird was flying all over the place. Sometimes it landed on a lamppost. Sometimes it landed on a telephone line. I thought about how awesome it must be to fly wherever you want, whenever you want. What a lucky bird.

When it landed on a lamppost, it looked around as if it owned everything it surveyed, standing straight and proudly puffing out its chest. What a regal bird.

I caught a glimpse of the bird’s heavy bill. It looked like it would work well to snatch some little critter out of the water and crunch it easily before swallowing. What a tough bird.

It was a good looking creature, with heavy white feathers, strong wings, and it was apparently healthy. Another one of God’s wonderful works. What a beautiful bird.

I trudged onward, thinking a little about this bird and its possibly awesome life. When I was maybe a hundred feet from my car, this bird flew in front of me one more time. I thought to myself, “Goodbye, winter bird. Good luck with whatever you do.”

I walked another few feet, and something struck my shoulder. I looked over to find a large blob of bird poop had landed on my jacket. What a crappy bird.