Monday, May 10, 2010

Do a good turn daily

"Do a good turn daily" they used to teach me in the Boy Scouts.  Well, as I got home this morning from job #1 it was evident that the dogs REALLY wanted out.  I just just starting to slide the glass door when my wife hollered at me to stop.  There was a bird in the backyard struggling.  It could sorta fly - like a chicken.  You know, get about 1' off the ground and travel a short distance before crashing gracelessly.  My dogs were all like "flappy toy!  flappy toy!" but I (and my wife) wanted to help it.  I think it was a Steller's Jay.  There was another one lingering nearby, seemingly concerned.  I know I'm guilty of anthropomorphizing these screwy little birds, but it sure looked like the one was trying to encourage the other.

My plan was to just gather up the struggling bird and set it down on the other side of the fence, beyond the reach of my dogs.  But the little birdie could fly just enough to make me look REALLY stupid.  Remember that scene when Rocky tried to catch the chicken?  Yeah, like that, except this time of year that part of my backyard is a mudbog with an occasional doglog.  Pretty tricky to catch a little birdie in those conditions.  But I did manage to usher him to a gap in the fence, which he escaped through.  He'll probably end up as kitteh chow, but hey, I tried.

Then I arrived at job #2 and my cow-irker co-worker was fussing about a good sized beetle (about an inch) wandering the floor.  She wanted to stomp on it but couldn't 'cuz she "can't handle that crunching sound."  So instead of stomping it myself I coaxed it onto a piece of paper and shook him off outside.  The dumbazz landed on the doormat and just sat there, nearly invisible on the black doormat.  He was soon to be goo if he stayed there long.  So I flicked him towards an open area, but he landed on his back and just looked really pathetic with his little six-pack of legs flailing furiously at the air.  So I flicked him again and he landed on his feet.  He's probably squished in the treads of a car tire by now, but hey, I tried.

If the Boy Scouts are right, I'm supposed to have done more than 14,000 good deeds by now.  I have some catching up to do.  But at least this one day, I ran a budget surplus.

18 comments:

  1. cc - spare us the linkbegging spammity crap, k?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, Inno...commoncents must be workin' on a plan to rule the blog world one day. Jeepers!

    Hey...why don't you do a good deed, and stick him through a hole in your fence...or flick him out into a flowerbed or something.

    Anyway, Thank You for posting this! I love your blog - keep up the great work!!

    Common Cents
    http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com

    ps. Link Exchange???

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm with you on the birdie thing. We have a returning pair of nesting turtledoves that insist on building atop the garage door opener. Not the best place for offspring.

    The beetle/roach, on the other hand . . . . Since moving to Louisiana, I've become fearless (and fear-inspiring) about squishing all sorts of flying tree roaches and other crunchy crawlies. If you don't get them first, they'll sneak into your house at night and abduct your young!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Inno...Moogie knows of what she speaks. Also a Louisianian here...

    "Water-bugs," or "Palmetto Bugs," They are about two foot long roaches. No chemical known to man will eradicate them...just good old fashion wailing away with something bigger than them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Moogie - this wasn't a roach. Roaches are actually fairly scarce around here - one has to be a MAJOR SLOB to get them in one's house. But as for abducting my young, there have been times when I'd have taken that deal!

    Andy - I had to gooble "palmetto bug" since I'm ig'nant. YIKES! I'd be wearing golf spikes everywhere I went and crunching every one I saw!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for posting this. I love your blog - keep up the good work!

    P.S. Link exchange?

    You have a connection with the animals. Just like Dr. Dolittle.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You should get a couple of badges for all that good samaritan-ness.

    ReplyDelete
  8. And props for calling cc out on the hammy spammy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good man! [sound of applause].

    ReplyDelete
  10. nice goin Scout!..thanks for droppin by WHT Inno..ltns!!:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would have gone a different route, but then not everyone knows how to cook Steller's Jay and beetle stew correctly. it's really an art.

    Also, Thank You for posting this! I love your blog - keep up the great work!!

    http://www.Ilikebaconbecauseitisdeliciousandgoeswellwitheggsandtoast.com

    ps. Link Exchange???

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good work!

    Just keep in mind that this is the age of Obama - where no good deed will go unpunished.

    ReplyDelete
  13. "Flappy toy!"
    LOL, LOOONG TIME!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. cc - spare us the linkbegging spammity crap, k?

    Amen. I ceased paying attention to Lackofcommoncents long ago.

    Nice post, but I think you're going to have to reconcile your obviously developing PETA tendencies. I recommend a weekend exorcism, with AK-47s, copious amounts of beer, and war porn, just to be on the safe side.

    ReplyDelete
  15. OK, good job on good deeds, but it seems as if everything you helped likely died. By the end, I was afraid you helped some Boy Scouts...just before they got hit by that truck. Oh well, you tried.

    BTW,

    I Spam My Blog
    http://www.ispammyblog.blogspot.com

    ps. Link Exchange???

    ReplyDelete
  16. First off, I like your ill-fated efforts at doing good deeds. It just shows to go you that things happen and "flappy toys" are sometimes just that.

    Secondly, I thought "Link Exchange" was a diet thing, where you traded sausage points for something with carbs in it or some such.

    Whatever. Doing good is a matter of course, of course, but sometimes, things take a different, ah, course.

    ReplyDelete

Family-friendly phrasing heartily encouraged.

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