Without Umbrellas

 

The field across the street has wild turkeys, turtles, rabbits and squirrels.  Those are just the things I can see from here.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t chipmunks, birds and wild hogs.

None of them carry umbrellas.  When it rains, they simply get wet.  When it rains hard or for a long time, they get soaked.  Only when the sun comes out do they begin to dry off.  Without opposable thumbs, a small business loan or umbrella factories, they remain exposed to the elements.  They can’t change their situation.

I cannot tell from their behavior if they are bothered by this fact.  They don’t seem to complain.  Unlike my neighbor, who does have opposable thumbs as well as umbrellas, yet complains constantly about the weather.

She grumbles when it rains, complains it is too hot whenever the sun is out, and should the breeze mess up her hair, you’d think the world had come to an end.  Why she ever steps outside I’ll never know.

I’d like her to be a bunny for a day.  Her life would consist of constantly looking for food, going about her day being soggy, all the while hoping that circling hawk doesn’t see her, swoop down and have her for lunch. 

Just once, she should focus on what she has and not on what she doesn’t.  Better yet, she should try being the hawk.  Then let her lecture me on why I should be a vegan.