Military Training and Bird Watching
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
Let's start with some military concepts. Every basic trainee learns "If it moves - salute it! If it doesn't move - paint it!" Creative thinking is really not encouraged.
This week's bird would cause most basic trainees' brains to melt down. If it doesn't move, it's invisible. Where would you put the paint? When they finally do move, they are generally flying away. You could salute, but a wave "good-bye" might be more appropriate.
I first encountered these small, brown songbirds when I lived in Georgia. The original "Birds of Nantucket" (1948) didn't offer much hope for finding one on our island - "Rare vagrant in spring and fall." As a young teenager I had a problem just picturing what a vagrant might look like - perhaps a ragged soul hanging around Main Street?
Read full story here
Let's start with some military concepts. Every basic trainee learns "If it moves - salute it! If it doesn't move - paint it!" Creative thinking is really not encouraged.
This week's bird would cause most basic trainees' brains to melt down. If it doesn't move, it's invisible. Where would you put the paint? When they finally do move, they are generally flying away. You could salute, but a wave "good-bye" might be more appropriate.
I first encountered these small, brown songbirds when I lived in Georgia. The original "Birds of Nantucket" (1948) didn't offer much hope for finding one on our island - "Rare vagrant in spring and fall." As a young teenager I had a problem just picturing what a vagrant might look like - perhaps a ragged soul hanging around Main Street?
Read full story here
© 2009 Created by Gary Lefko on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
