Monkeys in Shoes

Heard a story about ravens (or crows as some of you call them) and found it interesting. It seems these birds are watching us. They recognize our faces and our features and follow our actions as we go about our daily affairs. Much of this is about our interruptions to their daily business of finding food, but it they really recognize us and know who we are?

There are three crows that fly around my neighborhood. I see them on my morning rides. They answer to the names of “Russell”, “Sheryl” and “Crossing”. They recognize my voice or my habits and do not feel threatened so they do not fly away when I approach. They are stately birds large enough to chase hawks. They clean up the messes created by mobile machines. They are patient enough to allow their children to be picked up and moved out of harm’s way. They even say “Thank You” if you listen.

Other critters recognize the sound of a voice or a bag of peanuts being open to come to the daily buffet.

Like Pavlov’s dog, we all tend to follow positive rewards and avoid confrontation. I guess that is why there is “Puppywoods” as a safe peaceful haven. They just think of me as a monkey in shoes who delivers food.

Have you ever seen danger in the critter world? The communication goes out they all understand. They all have been brought up to realize their world is all about life and death and it can happen at any minute. And when the danger is gone and the all-clear signal is made, the world gets backs to routine.

The news is full of gruesome videos of wars and shootings and stressful conflicts around the world. But these critters don’t watch television or listen to radio or get glued to the Internet. They don’t worry about the next meteor. They don’t spend endless hours numbing themselves in mindless media presentations? These critters don’t get involved in “Downton Abbey” or care about who attends the Oscars.

They understand and appreciate their environment. They eat just enough and exercise a lot. They wake when the sun comes up and sleep when the sun goes down. They are trained to be aware of their surroundings but do not stress.

Maybe the Homo sapiens species are nothing more than “monkeys in shoes”?