A MUCH NEEDED REVISION OF A SIDEWALK CONFRONTATION

[schlomo]

A Sidewalk Confrontation

Yesterday, as I was walking on my usual route, I saw a bearded, barefooted man wearing a ragged coat drop some food scraps a few steps away from me. Suddenly, a host of birds dive bombed on that spot, blocking my way as they feasted on the leftovers.  Fearlessly and perhaps foolishly, I began to shoo them away so that I could continue my walk. The phalanx of birds didn’t appreciate being interrupted. Before they grudgingly flew away, they swarmed all over me. I felt that I was going to be assaulted (as in Hitchcock’s The Birds), so I flung my arms in a whirlwind to ward them off. Luckily, I didn’t hit any birds, and no birds pecked at me. I escaped unscathed but shaken.

The next time that I see birds congregating in front of me as they eat scattered morsels on the sidewalk, I will wait for them to finish their meal before resuming my walk. I’d be a bit of a birdbrain to do otherwise.