The Wright Brothers are credited with the first flight of man. Manned flight first had to be imagined in the mind. Ancient literature is replete with stories of mans desire to fly (Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Hermes and Mercury were wing footed Gods who could fly). Can you imagine the thoughts of Adam and Eve, seeing their first winged bird in flight and then wondering why they were limited to walking through the garden instead of flying over it. Mankind was limited to the ground until Wilbur and Orville changed history. Birds however, were born to fly.

I have witnessed a nest of Carolina Wrens hatch, get fed for two weeks and then hop out of the nest and instinctively am able to fly on their first attempt. Maybe not far, but as flight goes, it was a lot smoother then me flapping my arms and jumping. Watching the Royal Tern and Laughing gull chicks hatch and fly has also been a wonder to behold. They take a bit longer than Carolina Wrens, closer to a month before fledging. Their antics are hilarious as they stretch their tiny wings and exercise those newly feathered appendages. Often they walk with the sheer weight of the feathers causing them to drag their wings along the beach. Observers often think they are injured, but it is just a part of growing up and getting used to the weight of those new wings. At first, they patiently (later not so patiently) wait for the parents to feed them and begin to hop up and down and exercise their wings. This hopping and flapping continues until that one-day when suddenly they feel the time is right. Sometimes the look on their feathered faces seems amazed that they are actually off the ground. In a few days they are taking short hops over the beach and then they begin to fly along with their parents and observe how to feed in the bountiful ocean. The instinct to survive then keeps them going until the instinct to breed kicks in. And the cycle of life continues. Only they can fly and we humans still can’t (without planes).

I think we humans were also born to fly. We just haven’t completed our cycle of life yet. Just like those birds getting feathers and wings, one day too I will be loosed from the bonds of gravity and the cares of life that weigh me down. Then watch me fly...Blessings. Harry

Reflections on Broward is now "Mountain Musings"

First Flight