As
a child, I recall one
beautiful
and sunny
Saturday.
My dad
said
early in the
morning,
boys,
come
with me, I have
something
wonderful
to
show you.
My
two brothers and
I
were excited and
always
up for a pleasant
surprise.
What, Dad?
we
asked in anticipation.
Follow
me, boys, and
you
shall see, he smiled.
Dad
led us down to
the
basement where
there
was a sheet
draped
over something
strapped
to the back
of
a chair.
Whoa!
My brothers
and
I gasped as he
pulled
the cover off,
revealing
a bird, as
large
a bird in real
life
as we had ever seen.
It’s
a Great Horned Owl,
dad
told us.
At
the back yard party
your
mom and I had
last
night, the owl
landed
on a low branch
and
was hypnotized
by
the string of lights.
I
put on leather gloves
to
protect my hands
from
its sharp talons
and
grabbed it by the
legs.
I
decided to kept it over
night
so that I could
show
you boys this
magnificent
creature
close
up.
My
two brothers and I
followed
my dad with
that
owl strapped to
his
leather-gloved hand
as
we paraded up and
down
our street, showing
all
the neighbors who
happened
to be out in
their
yards.
I
could see dad as that
famous
animal guy,
Marlin
Perkins of Zoo
Parade,
we watched
every
week on TV.
When
we got back
to
our house, dad
stopped
in the front
yard
and undid
the
strap looped
around
the bird’s
legs
and his hand.
And
by the light of
such
a wondrous day,
dad
lifted his arm
up
over his head and
let
go. With a whooshing
of
the air, that beautiful
Great
Horned Owl
flapped
its mighty wings,
and
free as a bird,
it
gracefully flew away.
Chris
Hanch 9-4-18
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