SPEAKING OF EXOTICS

I was driving to meet a friend. On my way to her house, I rolled over a House Sparrow (European Sparrow) with my big dumb car tires. The little guy had been flitting about the street with, what I can only assume to be, his pair bond. I guess I was operating under an assumption that birds and other fauna will instinctually spring out of the way of moving vehicles.

I immediately came to a halt and stared into my rear view mirror at the tiny bird shaped lump on the street. I pulled the car around the nearest quiet, residential intersection and drove back. And shit stick, I felt really bad! When I met up with my friend, I launched straight into confession. She kindly reminded me that House Sparrows are exotics introduced in the late 19th century. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "They're like Cane Toads." My ornithology professor probably would have patted me on the back and congratulated me for cleaning out the gene pool.

But what? I still carelessly snuffed out a life and that makes me feel like a big fat A-hole. I mean whatever, I have stepped on countless ants and swatted god knows how many mosquitoes. Hell, I've been known to cut up ticks with a pocket knife. But all I could do that afternoon was think about his ladybird perched on their nest wondering, "How am I going to forage and incubate these eggs??"

Gah! (Sorry birdies)