Crows

I love watching the crows in the neighborhood. I find them beautiful and interesting little creatures. I've been thinking a lot of my father, so it is only appropriate that I share something he wrote once about crows. I took him for two classes - Intro to Philosophy and Rhet & Comp. He distributed this to my Comp class as a writing sample. By the way, I opened a file this morning that had a letter from him. The smell of the paper and ink reminded me so much of him that I was transported to his office. Man, I miss him.

"Crows are imperturbable. I see them sitting in the Highland parking lot when I arrive at 7 a.m. or I watch them summer mornings on the golf course. Usually in pairs, they peck in the wet grass, waddle a few feet, and then stop, cocking their heads quizzically or looking straight ahead as though in a reverie. They look like retired gentlemen relaxing in a city park.

Crows are not nervous, edgy like sparrows. They maintain a sense of calm. When a car approaches too quickly or closely or when my mower moves within twenty feet of their position, they will crow hop, a kind of lurching jump about a foot forward. Their hops are somewhat heavy, like the movement of a man who is swinging an ax for the thirtieth time.

And when man or machine invades their comfort zone, they also fly in a deliberate, measured manner. They leave the ground as if saying, "Oh well," and hop, flap their wings slowly, and head off low in a single direction, usually in a 40 degree angle to some distant destination, such as an old oak or hickory or another patch of open field.

Crows are black, a black with depth that can't be penetrated, like looking down a well or into a tunnel. They aren't glossy like a grackle. Crows do not reflect. No flash and dash like other birds. Crows are just basic, imperturbable black."

- Gerry McElroy