Climbed into the passenger seat of my sister’s car to drive into town and pick up a cheese pizza and some onion rings with country sweet sauce. After picking up the pizza, we get out of the car for a minute to go and look over the top of the waterfall near the center of town.
There’s a mallard duck floating on the creek. She’s caught in the current, and she looks like she might be about to be swept away and down over the edge. We watch in anguish as she hurtles towards the precipice, nervously paddling her feet to no avail. We breathe out a sigh of relief when she manages to get her footing on a solid patch of rock. She rests for a few moments, nibbling on something under the surface. Then she spreads her wings and half dives, half soars down over the side with surprising grace, landing smoothly on rough water far below us.
I’d forgotten for a moment that most creatures with wings are capable of flying.