Beyond my Paygrade

From my youngest years as a human, (.....I believe in reincarnation so 'take that'...)... my mom talked of Robins. Now, my mom just turned 100 and yet, she still talks of robins. 

When I was a lad of 2-3 .....this was in the late 1950's (Theodore Cleaver was my role model)... I can remember my mom pointing out to me the robins. The robins have returned, so spring is here. She turned me on man,....she made me appreciate birds just because of the robin.

So for the past 60 years I have followed robins. While Pete Dunne loves chickadees (for his own reasons for I love them too but....) my love is robins. I was sitting outside tonight and far off in the tree perched a robin, chirping away. I just saw a silhouette but knew it was 'my bird'..... 

Robins know a lot.... they know how to find worms when I can't find them to go fishing with. You see, they have this innate ability to hear or feel or sense ground vibration. I wouldn't think that a worm makes much vibration in the ground as, after all, it is a worm. How much vibrating can a worm do? I don't understand it from a worm's perspective how it can be in the ground and somehow find itself pushing soil up. How does it know which way is up? If not for air bubbles, I would probably drown in the pool and yet, here is a worm knowing which was is 'up'. But even though they have that ability, how does a worm find itself in the middle of a parking lot? How far must it go, and yes...quite the laborious task of moving on the pavement....for what must seem like miles. Right in the middle of a parking lot at Walmart, is a worm. Hey worm ....why didn't you turn back? What happened to your sense of direction? You know how to go 'up'...in the soil with no air, no light...and the pressure of soil upon you, but for some reason you can't take the easiest of tasks and know that 'man, you are in a parking lot for goodness sakes, turn back...I say...turn back..

But this blog is not about the worm, it is about the robin..... My bone of intellectual contention with the robin is, what are YOU doing on the pavement in the first place. I have a doctorate....in fact I strived for years to write that dissertation using the correct APA and cites and research and god knows what else I managed to pull from my horse's ass to complete that, but ...I have a doctorate and I still wonder....what are you doing on a pavement in the middle of the street?

You of all birds have this keen sense of knowing and being aware of worm vibration and hearing and yet...here you are on the pavement of a busy road waiting for my car to be within ten feet of you before you fly away with a chirp, like man.... WTF? Don't run me over. Well ....get out of the dang road bird.. I am not purposely trying to run you over. In fact I pull over for turtles...I press the breaks for any creature in front of me. I purposely go below the speed limit at dusk to avoid deers......  But really bird, get off the road. 

Let's move back a bit. The worm finds itself in the middle of the parking lot and it makes sense that the robin is looking for a worm, (who cares how stupid it is) and so perhaps the best place to find 'easy pickings' is on the road, is pavement...is the parking lot. But I never find a robin, not in my entire life....finding and eating a worm found on pavement. 

For just today on a 4 mile walk ...I found countess worms as they attempted to find 'soil' before they dried up under the sun.... and yet, not one robin came to pick away at these easy pickings. 

So obviously the worm is stupid....the robin, albeit not stupid...absolutely refuses to go after the 'easy catch' and yet continues to find itself on the  pavement. How come? WHY ARE YOU ON THE PAVEMENT? YOU DONT EAT THE WORMS WHICH ARE ON THE PAVEMENT SO I QUESTION YOU AGAIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE PAVEMENT. TELL ME...ENLIGHTEN ME.