Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Guest Column

This is 'for the birds' - whatever that means

By GEORGI DAVIS
Published October 15, 2006

Today I was thinking about birds. They are amazing creatures. They fly so gracefully above the land, giving them a view we can only see from an airplane or tall building. I love to watch as their wings bend back and forth as they soar overhead. It is no wonder that man wanted to learn how to fly. It's too bad that airplanes can't be as graceful as birds.

I was surprised to learn from the Weather Channel that bird watching ranks second in hobbies in the United States.

I'm not one of those serious bird watchers, I just like watching the birds on my pond hunt for fish and other food. I like to watch as they soar over our community.

It is fun to watch their "pecking order." There is always a leader. If one bird decides to fly from a designated spot, the other birds soon follow. Even in flight, there is always a leader to their formation.

I understand that, in order to save energy on long flights, the leader will slip to the back and let the next bird become the leader. What a marvelous way to keep up their endurance. Maybe we humans should consider this tactic.

It seems to me that in human life, there is always one person who wants to be the leader. There is a "pecking order" in most organizations. Some of our leaders, whether it be for social functions or in politics, never want to give up the lead. Some shouldn't. Others should.

But that isn't what I was really thinking about. I was thinking that at this time of the year, the birds start their flights south. Even the human snowbirds begin to return to the warmth of tropical Florida. It's fun to watch both of them migrate, birds as well as humans.

Birds have no cars to unload or houses to put back in order. They just fly where they want to go without the fuss of suitcases full of clothes and boxes of canned goods, cereal, light bulbs and whatever else it takes to make a temporary house a home.

Birds seem to take the trip and the change in stride. It's just what they do, and they know how to do it. Humans seem to have a more difficult time adjusting to the change. Some never do adjust and long for the cold, bitter winters up north where their families are.

But that's enough on that subject. I was also thinking about the expression, "for the birds." I really do wonder where it came from. It has a negative connotation that I don't understand.

How can you give a negative expression to such marvelous creatures? They sing for us, they eat the bugs and mosquitoes for us, and they provide us with hours of entertainment.

But, be that as it may, there are some things in life that really are "for the birds" (and forgive me for using that expression).

In my opinion, going to the dentist is "for the birds." It is something you must do, but dentists always seem so "down in the mouth."

But it's better to go to the dentist than to go around with visibly missing teeth.

Some commercials on TV are "for the birds." I, for one, am getting really tired of all those medicine commercials. I think what medicine you take should be up to your doctor. After all that's why you are paying him big money. He, or she, is supposed to prescribe, not the ad agencies.

I think ironing is "for the birds." You iron the clothes and make them look wrinkle-free, only to put them on and in five minutes they are wrinkled again.

The same with making the bed. Every morning I make the bed. But I know within 12 hours I will unmake it. Then I'll have to get up and make it again.

Eating is something else "for the birds." We eat to live, but there must be a better way to sustain us.

In the morning you eat breakfast (at least I do), do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. At noon, the process is the same. Then suppertime comes and out come the pots, the pans, the dishes and the food. Then it's time to do the dishes, clean the kitchen and get it ready to dirty again in the morning.

I had a friend in Ohio who thought closet doors were "for the birds." She said her children never closed them. So she simply removed all the closet doors. That way she didn't have to constantly remind the children to close the door.

My grandmother's favorite expression was, "What's the matter? You born in a barn?" My grandmother liked saying that, so she didn't remove any doors.

I think cars are "for the birds" but I've never seen one driving one.

Cars go too fast, cost too much money and are expensive to keep in running condition. On top of that, you have to keep filling them with fuel. I think we should all go back to horses.

Life would be at a much slower pace if we all rode horses.

Isn't it strange how the mind works? To think I was thinking about how graceful birds are, and I ended up going off on a tangent again. I have one more thought on birds, though.

We have a great egret in our pond with only one foot. I think my friend the alligator must have somehow gotten hold of it.

But this bird with one foot still roams the pond, making the best of a bad situation. He can still fish, he can still fly, and he still manages to hop about.

So, the next time you think something is "for the birds," think about him. He makes the expression a positive instead of a negative.

Maybe the expression should be "for the possums." They can be pretty nasty creatures, in my opinion, but that's another story.

Thought for the day: The brain is a marvelous thing. It sometimes takes off in flight, just like the birds.

[Last modified October 15, 2006, 07:15:20]