Nine Lucky Ducklings

There's so much worry today, so many negative stories to be told, that one begins to wonder if anything good ever happens in this world. With all the death and destruction and disease and the economic turmoil in the world today it's no wonder these things capture the headlines in the mainstream news sources. "If it bleeds, it leads" is still a valid meme with the corporate media. With the wars, unrest and riots due to economic distress there is no shortage of bleeding. Yet there are good things that happen in the world, positive things that show us people still care and are full of compassion. My ex related to me such a story the other day which she was personally involved with and I'd thought I'd share it with you. Maybe the world we live in isn't so bad after all.

This story starts with a phone call. Deanna (my ex) received a phone call the other night from her sister Shell. She was asked to bring one of her animal cages to the parking lot of a local Target store. Deanna wants to know why, but Shell is so insistent and in such a tizzy that Deanna didn't really question her and just brought the cage.

It turns out that Shell wanted the cage for a duck. This duck had been walking across parking lot with a brood of chicks and nine of her ten ducklings had fallen through the grate of a storm drain. Shell and several other people, about eight or so, had decided to take it upon themselves to rescue the ducklings. They wanted to protect the mother duck while this was going on, so they were going to try to catch it and put it in a cage until they could get the ducklings to safety.

Their first problem was how to get the grate off. They had approached a law enforcement officer (LEO) for help, but he had told them there was nothing he could do. Undaunted, they went into the Target store and got permission from the store to remove the grate and rescue the ducklings. Some tried to pry open the grate with a crowbar while others were trying to catch the mother duck. They were not able to catch the duck as every time they got too near the duck would take off and fly in a circle a couple of times before landing far enough away from the people so that they weren't a threat to it. After a time it was decided that trying to catch the mother duck was useless and that they would just direct traffic around the duck so that it wouldn't get hurt while the operation was undertaken.

They could not get the lid off with a crowbar, no matter how hard they tried. They gave up on that idea and put their heads together to figure out another way. Finally they decided to call a tow truck. There were about ten of them, so they decided to each pay ten percent of the cost and therefore none of them was paying that much. The tow truck came and easily pulled the grate up. When the tow truck driver saw what the people were doing, he waived the chargers and refused to take payment. Yet another compassionate human being deciding to simply feel good about doing his part to help the helpless.

Now the people had the problem of how to get the ducklings out and where to put them where they'd be safe. Someone brought out a cardboard box. The LEO actually decided to loan the people a net that they could use to fish out the ducklings. Deanna informed me that if the officer hadn't done so, they would have gone into Target and purchased such a net. They started fishing out the ducklings and putting them in the box.

While all this was going on, the mother duck was naturally wandering about nervously quaking and keeping an eye on what these humans were doing. She was very concerned about her babies. Shell maintained a vigil and directed traffic around her so the mother duck wouldn't get hurt. While she got some dirty looks and some not so nice responses from some of the drivers, many of them simply followed her directions and found a different way to get around in the parking lot. One woman even came up to the crowd and informed them that she was angry at first for being directed around, and then when she found out what they were doing she was sympathetic to their actions.

During all this time, the Target employees were also very supportive. They were bringing out snacks and things to the people saving these little ducklings and quite curious as to how everything was proceeding. It was, after all, quite an endeavor to undertake.

After the ducklings were all in the box and the grate on the storm drain replaced, there was a discussion on what would be the safest way to unite the mother duck and her ducklings. There were several nature areas nearby, but they had yet to capture the mother and didn't know if she'd follow or not. Before they could decide, the LEO, who had claimed he couldn't help but had spent the whole time watching the operation, took the box and dumped the ducklings out right there in the parking lot. The mother proceeded to waddle across the parking lot toward a very busy street. Across that street there was a park with a pond.

The people followed. As the ducks reached the busy street the people formed a line to stop traffic. They wanted to make sure nothing tragic happened at the last second that would make their efforts seem for naught. Two people escorted the ducks until they were safe in the pond and the rest made sure the traffic was stopped until ducks and humans alike were all safely back where they belonged. All in all, about two hours had elapsed since Deanna had received her phone call. That was how nine lucky ducklings were rescued from a terrible fate and nature served by humanity.

I hope you have enjoyed this positive story. I hope it leaves you with a good feeling in your heart. I have in the past written about the beauty of humanity. I have written about empathy and compassion and how so many people embody such emotions. This story is an example of what I've talked about.

It is an amazing and wonderful thing for me to know that ten people can come together, take time out of their busy lives, overcome obstacles and even spend their own hard earned funds to help a helpless little animal rescue her babies. They could have given up and turned their backs on their fellow creatures, but they stuck with it and saw it through to the end. It gives me hope that in the future, if the worst does come to pass and the world economy does collapse, that human love and compassion will win the day and we will come together as a species to help each other out. It gives me hope that with love and compassion, we can overcome any obstacle.

My archives can be found at my website szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to read more and support me by making a donation.

For a time my books will be available exclusively at Amazon.com from Kindle Direct Publishing. Keep an eye out for special offers. In the meantime, I do need sales in order to support my habit of eating. These are great, well written books that I'm sure you'll find entertaining. Here are the links to all my ebooks so you can purchase and enjoy them:

The Colors of Elberia; book 1 of The Black Blade Trilogy

The Legacy of the Tareks; book 2 of The Black Blade Trilogy

The Power of the Tech; book 3 of The Black Blade Trilogy

The Edge of Sanity (a Matthew Wayne novel)

The Ouijiers (a Matthew Wayne novel)