Across the plains
blew a magnificent wind, and the tops of gently rounded trees dappled in
the awesome construction of the rolling landscapes abroad. The simplistic
sounds of an Earthen Bird of Paradise laid its call to this heaven of countless
days and dreamy cloudless skies. Through the lush jungle around Unoja'te,
United Embassy of Kenya, two pairs of thin Erasto-Glass LED binoculars
stared into the tops of the daunting masters of the forests. Foxglove and
Cardinal Flowers waved to and fro around a large clearing of silent grass...
"Daddy! Daddy!
Daddy!" a young voice called from the long grasses of the jungle clearing.
The silence was broken, and the rare primates around the area jumped when
they heard the shrill voice of a human.
On the other
side of the clearing, a tall dark man of about 34 years stood. He peered
into his binoculars, and he caught sight of a Osprey that swooped above
for a few moments, and then resting on a high branch. Typical of an Osprey,
the man thought to himself. After all, a clear river ran near his and his
son's campsite.
"Daddy!!" the
voice grew more persistant. Then, as soon as the man moved over to the
entrance to the makeshift home they had, a small head popped from the grasses.
A dark flash of black hair shimmered in the sunlight as the boy of seven
made a move to his father's side.
"Shh! Your going
to scare away the wildlife…" the father said. He removed the wide-brimmed
hat and brushed off his own dark head of hair. It was hot and sticky.
"But…but…but…"
the boy wouldn't give up. He pointed inside the entrance, and moved in.
The entrance
opened to a large room with walls of flap-canvas, upheld by metal rods
firmly dug into the ground. It was a good size, and near the right side,
there was an array of metal cages. Inside the top layer was a large Western
Honey-Buzzard, complimented with a rare Egyptian Vulture. The birds of
prey watched the smaller framed boy.
"I love you…Simon,"
the boy smiled widely at the beautiful Western Honey-Buzzard. The boy's
father watched him intently as his son spoke to the wildlife with an empathy
he saw often in his child.
The boy continued,
"I just saw one of your own kind, Simon. Father's going to let you out
soon…but you got to promise to come back. I want to hear all of your adventures."
Of course, as
much as the boy wanted the bird to respond, he didn't. "Simon" simply looked
into the dark brown eyes of his human-friend. The bird, of course, didn't
register what was happening, or that he was simply a subject of wildlife
relocation.
"Come on, Angster,"
the father joked, replacing the hat on his head. "You going to help me
take a count tomorrow on the Bataleur population around here?"
"YES!" the boy
responded, but then he stopped, "Don't call me Angster!"
"OK…fine, Andrew."
"No! Not that
either…" the boy came forward and playfully started to wrestle his much
taller father.
"Andy?" the father
joked back. He lifted his arm, and along with it, his son who tugged at
it.
"No! I'm Ian."
The father frowned,
and he jokingly snapped his fingers as he walked back into the sun-dominated
clearing. "So…that's your name?"
"Yes! You dummy!"
Ian, the boy, responded. "I am Ian! Duh!"
"Watch it…your
lucky I let you stay for breakfast," the father laughed to himself.
Ian tripped forward,
still trying to outdo his father's muscular capability.
