Random Goose

Life is all about the little things that make you happy. Join me on a journey. We’re driving down the highway, far outside of the city. Traffic is light, mostly semi-trucks pulling the long haul to the next metropolitan area. You’re driving across the landlocked Midwest with corn fields to the left of you and soy bean fields to the right of you. It’s been at least a week since the last rain. The land is dry, the air still, and the summer sun is high in the early afternoon sky. We pull into the exit lane to refill on gas and maybe grab a drink from the local convenience store. The exit ramp is one of those convoluted deals where your rap around a 270 degree turn while elevating onto a bridge that then crosses back over the highway. In the middle of this circle of road there are random concrete slabs that evoke thoughts of crop circles, as if the strange species of construction workers that used to inhabit these lands were trying to communicate with us, and if we could only decipher the relevance of these strange structures, then maybe we could truly understand their purpose. But just as you are pondering this thought, you see it. Right there in the middle of the cryptic concrete jungle, miles from the nearest body of water, and without a friend in the world… a random goose. Just, you know, chillin’. The goose is neither lost nor afraid. It simply stands with every bit of confidence and sense of belonging you would expect of a CEO sitting in his own office. You stare at the goose as the car traverses the slow curve, thinking simply: “what are you doing here goose?” Likewise, the goose stares back at your strange vehicle, likely thinking the same thing, but with a twinge of “get out” thrown in. It’s the little things that make me happy, and none more than a lone goose where he has no earthly business being.

            -AMS