>>another giant expostulation of cah,cah<<
A lesser Chicken might take offense to such a remark. Do not let the folly of your relative youth blind you to the wisdom that is laid out before you. You would be prudent to heed the words of one who has been around the coop a few times. I am reminded of a story....
It all started with a berry. Not a blackberry, or a raspberry, but a berry of similar taste, as this was in a time long ago when such distinctions weren't made, and the land was covered with trees and foliage, unsoiled by the concrete and litter now spread by that wretched two legged mammal.
This berry had been on the vine too long. It's sweetness had passed unappreciated, and it was now withered. It's natural sugars had fermented and the syrupy result oozed through the cracks in it's skin caused by the relentless beating sun. There was not happiness for this berry, and no one with whom to share the misery, for it's vine neighbors had long since fallen to the ground to be eaten by the various insects which reside there. I was this very solitude that attracted the attention of the Crow.
Now, crows are not very finicky creatures, and when this crow saw the lonely berry on the vine, it quickly made a meal of it, thinking himself fortunate for having the chance to get the very last one. The Crow gave nary a thought to the over-ripe condition of the berry, and the possible consequences to even such a hearty digestive system. The berry raced through the crow like Mexican water through a tourist, and the sudden need to purge itself of the berry caught the crow by surprise, in mid-flight. This was a difficult circumstance for the crow because he often found joy in targeting the ground-dwelling animals when such an urge hit him. But this berry had an urgency that could not be ignored, and the crow was forced to waste his precious cargo on the vegetable matter lining the forest floor, as there was no animal in sight to target.
The 'splat' of the once-had-been-a-berry on the ground startled a rabbit. A rabbit is a nervous animal, and with good reason. Death can come from above, in the form of a hawk or an owl, or it can come from the undergrowth, in the form of a snake. Or, death can simply come as a large, hungry feline. Without bothering to investigate the noise of the 'splat', the rabbit bolts through the forest.
A cow was walking nearby, and heard the rabbit tearing through the brush. Without his herd nearby for assurance, the cow veered away from the sound, into the thick forest. The cow snapped small branches and trampled the brush as it went, hardly feeling a thing against his thick hide.
A few days later, another cow was wandering about in this part of the forest. He had been following exact trail as the first cow, for it was much easier when the branches had already been cleared and the tangled vines were already trampled down. He came to the point where the first cow had heard the rabbit. The path made a sudden turn. Not being one to blaze new trails, the cow followed the veering trail to the left, and continued on it's way.
When humans first encroached upon the wilderness, it was hard to travel. But it was necessary to travel from one village to the next because there were often shortages of food at any given time in a village. Naturally, the path that the cow had made became a favorite route for the humans. It was nice that they didn't have to worry about tripping on the undergrowth, or branches hitting them in the face. As human travel increased, the path became wider, almost like a small road. And a road was what was needed, for soon carts used to on this trail, driven by a cow, whose species could be said to have started this road.
As the years passed, the road became paved with gravel, and then with concrete, and then widened to 4 lanes. Gasoline engines powered heavy steel vehicles at breakneck speeds across the land, stopping usually only long enough to refuel and get a Slurpy. But in that one spot, where the rabbit had jumped so long ago, the road still veered to the left, and no one knew why.
I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that there must be a moral to this story. You are thinking that you are going to hear something about chaotic systems, or "sensitive dependency to initial conditions", where a small berry can decide the future mappings of great highways. Or it's a story about the tendency to follow the path of least resistance. But before you jump to conclusions, think about the rabbit. A rabbit is not a very large animal, and being shy, does not make very much noise, even when running as fast as it can. Therefore, the only conclusion that I can come to is...
Cows must have much better hearing than we give them credit for.
TLC
**** MARKET FACTOID ****
With a desire to always keep the numbers low, Golfers are some of the most bearish people. More than any other sport, and definitely more the Bowling.
**** END MARKET FACTOID **** |
