Just one of those letters to the editor that is too long to run but seems worthwhile:
I was enjoying the lovely weather Saturday evening, sitting on my screened porch talking to a friend when the sound of four young men walking on the Smith Creek greenway behind my house caught my attention.
All three carried BB or pellet guns and were randomly shooting into the woods. I immediately thought no good can come from this, and unfortunately only too soon realized my greatest fears.
I had gone back into the house to pour a glass of wine and come back to my porch only to hear my neighbor chastising these same young men for shooting at something in her backyard. I quickly ran down my stairs and followed one of the young men as he walked between our houses and soon found the object of their attention. My heart sank, and my blood began to boil as I spotted a beautiful juvenile cardinal struggling to escape, unable to fly and bleeding from at least one wound that had blown out one of its eyes. I was able to catch the poor bird and did my best to hold it comfortably. It bled all over my hand, and it was obvious that this was as old as this bird would get.
I confronted the three remaining young men -- at least one of them had had the sense to leave -- and let them know how I felt about what they had done to the poor animal that was bleeding in my hand. Two of the three were silent and, I feel, ashamed for what had been done. One was defiant, and his only response was for me to get out of his face. I wanted to shove his BB gun. Fortunately, my wife was there to at least bring me back to reality.
My parting shot was to tell them if I ever saw them behind my house with the guns I was now holding and had to resist the urge to break over my knee, it would not be a pleasant experience. Of course, the defiant one, again telling me to get out of his face, told me he was going to have his dad come beat me up. My comment was, Bring it on. I'm sure he'll love to see what you've been doing as I held the poor bird up for him to see.
The young men headed home, and shedding a tear I put the poor bird out of its misery. I'm having trouble getting the image of the beautiful animal out of my mind and the feeling of her heart beating in my hand as her blood ran across my fingers. I feel somewhat guilty about allowing my anger to get the best of me. Would it have been better to calmly express my disappointment? Did I miss an opportunity to effectively influence these young men? Perhaps one of us has learned something from this, and the legacy of the poor beautiful bird can live on, at least in my heart.
John Owen
Wake Forest
Comments
why are we so cruel
Thu, 06/30/2011 - 08:29 — faaizmuhammadi feel great sorry for the act that thses guys committed. there is no law in the world but law of escape and mighty law.
http://www.dunyanews.tv
Just a bad choice
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 07:46 — RaymondSimsThe bird in question a "Cardinal" is our state bird, It is protected by state laws. YOU should have called the wildlife officer, the boy and family would pay$$$ dearly.
However I have always shared a golden rule in hunting, "If you shoot it you eat it." If an animal is to give up its life it should be to sustain a life not the joy of killing.
The REAL tragedy...
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 12:51 — SFGuyI read this letter, all the while thinking it had to be a woman who wrote it. I was truly shocked to see it signed "John".
Rather than weep over a dead bird, we should be mourning the death of American manhood that has occurred over the past generation. Not only was your response to "boys being boys" shameful and weak, but your hand wringing and self-doubt at the end of your letter about your strongly held convictions on the sanctity of animal life was truly sickening.
You're lucky that kid didn't throw you a beating.
Bird Shooters
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 00:17 — whollarGood job, John -
I recall my first BB gun, and shooting a bird was one of my first goals. It historically had been posed as a hunting task. After my first success, however, I collected the bird. I realized my mistake, buried it, and never shot at another bird again.
The miscreant who was not mollified may eventually show more signs of sociopathy, as killing and torturing animals tends to be a prelude to conduct disorder. The defiance would be another alarm. Also, doesn't Wake Forest have a "bird sanctuary" designation, or other laws about gun use (even pellets/BBs) in city?