Ashamedly, it’s been a wee bit more
than a year since my last post. I could enumerate a litany of excuses . . . a major
move from Ohio to South Carolina, and a job change from Ohio Christian University
to Columbia International University probably being the biggest . . . but the
real truth is lack of inspiration and focus.
But this past Thursday, I was
inspired!
The Columbia International
University (CIU) Campus is located in the middle of 400 acres of woods and
rolling hills, filled with trails, ponds, streams, with the Broad River as its
western border. Wildlife abounds!
I am fortunate to live in a lovely
apartment in a fully modern, six building apartment complex in the valley on
the Broad River side of the campus, thus privileged to walk just under the half
mile it takes to get to my office every day.
Back to this past Thursday.
My morning “commute” brought me to
the campus, where I saw the regal campus hawk (yes, he appears to be “the
campus hawk”, seen regularly around the place), parked haughtily on the corner
of the chapel, approximately twelve feet up. Amazingly, I was able to walk
right up to him and engage in a rather one-sided conversation. He had his back
to me, but cocked his head just a wee bit in order to see me with one eye, then
immediately turned back around away from me. I continued speaking to him in low
tones, hoping he’d turn around and “engage” me with at least a passing
interest.
Alas, he grew bored with my droning
and flew into a tree between the chapel and my office building where a couple
of squirrels were scurrying about, staring hungrily at the playful little fellows.
All of a sudden he swooped down, stretched his enormous talons toward one of
those squirrels, who dashed like a streak of lightening into a bush barking
furiously at that hawk from his hideaway.
To add insult to injury to the breakfast
deprived hawk, a couple of crows happened upon the scene and starting dive
bombing the guy, driving him from the tree, even from the heart of the campus,
and off somewhere toward the Broad River, the squirrel still in a maniacal,
barking rage under the bush.
Besides the entertainment value of
my Friday morning commute, I took away three lessons;
1.
Speed is better than strength. (That squirrel
was really fast.)
2.
Two are better than one, even if that one is
bigger. (The crows understand what “team” means.)
3.
Never give up. (The hawk will be back.)
Make that four lessons; take time
to enjoy your commute. There are lessons to be learned if you just pay
attention.
