Thursday, May 19, 2005

A highwire act

Driving to work this morning I saw a remarkable tussle between a possum and a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos. The possum was on a telephone wire crossing above the road. The cockatoos were surrounding the possum on the the wires, shrieking and flapping wings. The possum was edging slowly and very gingerly along the wire. The cockatoos would back off as the possum advanced. One cockatoo was hanging upside down and beating its wings. Then the traffic moved on and I lost sight of the confrontation. My money was on the possum.

Update: Our friend, Mehr mas, from Iran, asks in her comment on this posting what does the last sentence mean? It means that if I was to bet on the outcome, I'd bet my money on the possum winning the confrontation.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

so nice you see the world!
I always admire your family and I am one of your regular reader.
I think Judy can remember me. I am an Iranian woman and unfortunately
We have a different opinion on president Bush! Do you rememeber me? surely . I want to be honest with you I read your website because your English is nice and it’s completely different which I have read in English courses I’ve passed. It is so wonderful But I think I had a good chance to find an intellectual and nice family. After reading your blog I became very keen to read your comments. Today when I was reading your comment I remembered a part of a nice Iranian poem
it says:
Eyes should be washed
We should see with a different way
The best poem and the worst translation by me! Oh my God please expand my English knowledge. I think a person that one of his best experience in a day is a nice confrontation scene between birds is seeing the world in other way as our great poet (Sohrab Sepehri) has suggested . I don’t know I could tell you correctly what I wanted to say or no!
I hope it isn’t too late to tell my heartiest congratulation for your birthday.
By the way I didn’t understand what does this sentence mean “ My money was on the possum.”

Have a good time.
Mehr mas

Anonymous said...

That must've been a sight to see! And my money's on the possum too. ;-)