Have you ever felt sorry for a bird? Our friend Peter Haley sent us an article about a book Todd Civin of Winchendon wrote about the struggles and successes of 31 handicapped people. Peter knows that our son, Grant, is handicapped and thought the article would interest us. Yes, it did. In fact, the article inspired me to write this story about a bird that pulls at my heartstrings every morning as we watch the birds come to our son’s birdfeeder while we eat our breakfast.
We are visiting our son, Cort, in Hawaii. We have the same breakfast-and-bird-watching routine here as we have when we’re back home in Phillipston but here there are different varieties of birds to enjoy. One is the barred dove. There are lots of them here, and one of them is very special. He only has one leg. It doesn’t appear that he’s had an injury so I’m assuming he was born that way. I call him Hopalong.
I gave him that name because he can’t walk, he hops. While all his brothers and sisters walk through the grass and along the patio, he hops, and hopping through the grass is especially strenuous for him. He can’t keep up with the others as they walk quickly with their heads bobbing rhythmically to each step. He just hops and has to stop frequently to rest, but he holds his head high with each hop. I admire that. It gives him a courageous look. Also it must be hard for him to keep his balance with just one leg; I know it’s hard for me to keep my balance when I try standing on one leg.
I’m happy for him that he belongs to such a peaceful variety of birds. The doves are not aggressive to each other or to other birds. Hopalong is welcome to eat beside them just as all are welcome. It makes me think of how the dove is often used as a peace symbol. It’s the bird God sent down when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The dove represents good things — love and peace.
I wish all people could be like doves — kind, welcoming, and good to everyone. Just last week when I was in the grocery store, I met a man who reminded me of a dove. I was standing on the bottom shelf reaching for a box of cereal that was on the top one. For some reason, the cereal that my husband, Gerry, likes is always on the top shelf in every grocery store; it’s a challenge for me to get it. Well, that day, along came a tall man who said, “One thing God gave me was height, let me get that for you.”
That tall man saw a need and quickly responded. I’m not handicapped but I was struggling. A handicapped person has struggles every day and maybe in every way. Some people were unkind to our son Grant, and others have reached out with care and compassion. The contrast in people reminds me of the contrast in birds — aggressive blue jays back home that drive other birds and even each other away from the feeder and the peaceful doves here that welcome all.
I admire the doves, and I admire people who are like doves. When you care for others, you care for yourself and help make the world a better place.
Author Todd Covin must be like a dove to spend two years writing a book about handicapped people. I’m looking forward to reading it. For sure, he knows the extra courage it took for those folks to succeed and the extra caring it took for people in their lives to give them the support they needed. I like his title “Pulling Each Other Along.” That’s what we all need to do in this life.
Thank you, Peter. The article you sent to us gave me an opportunity to express the thoughts this dear little bird gives me.
Carole Gariepy of Phillipston has written seven books, all nonfiction. A recent one is a travel book, “Why Go There?” In her younger years, she was a teacher.