The robins are now back
Published 6:21 am Wednesday, March 31, 2010
In the words of one historian, Islam “opened the door wide in a world of uncertainty, treachery and intolerable divisions to a great and increasing brotherhood of trustworthy men on earth, and to a paradise…of equal fellowship and simple and understandable delights.”
I don’t for the life of me know who that ‘one historian’ is or where I ran across these words, but they interest me. Growing up in Austin, I don’t think I had a clue what being Islam meant. It’s something I intend to look into perhaps with “Google” or one of those other places you search on.
Recently I have been in touch with a former Austin resident now residing in Chicago. She suggests I find someone under 25 to sit down with me and point out some of the options that presently lay dormant in my laptop, maybe some day, maybe today. Casey is home for a week. He seems to be spending a good part of the day dreaming in his room.
On Monday, I had a brief conversation with an old friend who used to work at the Coffee House on Main. She was there with her 3-year-old daughter waiting for a friend. I was surprised when she said she didn’t have a cell phone. This was a lift to my spirits.
Before she arrived I had coffee with Cousin Ed, and he was telling me about the event at George’s Pizza last Friday in honor of the basketball players of the class of 1960. The majority of them were there according to Cousin Ed, but some of their shapes had changed. They had another event at the Target Center on Saturday where they lined up the Austin team across from the Edgerton team, and there they shook hands, according to Cousin Ed.
Edgerton came from a town of about 1,000 and was undefeated, including the championship game against Austin.
The state tournament was always a big event, but I also know of a small contingent that didn’t always get to the games. They had some other experiences. Those names remain guarded.
Back in town, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church presented Godspell on stage this past weekend noted as “a musical based upon the Gospel according to Matthew.” We attended Sunday to what appeared to be a full house with a sterling performance that in the end brought tears to this newcomer.
While we were there, Mellow rested in his kennel, probably wondering why she has to live part of the day in a cage. There seems to be a better alliance between she and Echo and Ptolme.
Lydia, our eldest, stopped by last week and was once again met by a round of barks. I had to leave for our writing group, and Lydia was still there, and I assumed about to leave. When I returned her car was still there, and there were lights on. My first thought was what happened. When I got in the house Lydia was laying on the couch watching TV, and Mellow was on the floor beside her. Lydia says she still doesn’t like her, though. I’m still trying to decide what to think. Maybe Casey can do some “dog whisperer” stuff while he is home.
The good news is the robins are back. Walking home from the coffee house the other day, there were two of them near one another in the front yard of a house, and one on the side of the house. One from the front of the house intruded with the one on the side of the house. I wasn’t sure if it was a romantic encounter or a declaration of war. They flew together straight up, wings flapping in the air aways and then landed again. Then one of them hit the road. It’s not easy to distinguish the difference between a female and a male robin. I suppose that applies to most birds.
As a little lad, I once tossed a rock at a robin in the yard and hit it. It plopped over. I went in the house to tell my mother, but once in the house I decided not to tell her.
A little later I went back outside to check on her (I assumed it was a female) and low and behold she was gone, taken flight. What a relief. I’ve shared this before.
Currently there’s a supply of rocks dwelling on our boulevard that moved in this winter with some assistance from the snowplows.