The full-faced moon was coming up and the red ball of sun was going down as I rose from watching the evening news on television to come and plunk my butt on the comfortable office-like chair that fronts the keyboard on my computer.
The news wasn’t over yet, but I got a little more than ticked off about the political backbiting and wrongdoings of those in high places.
Perhaps it could have been said differently, but it brought the religiously discomforting four-lettered ‘F’ word to my lips, telling them, under my breath because grandchildren were present, in no uncertain terms to be fruitful and multiply in some other location.
Night after night it echoes nothing but the same. Under budgeting, overspending and misuse of tax dollars seem to be the norms of the day. Whatever happened to honesty and integrity? I am too unschooled in upper political circles to understand why pushing the paying of the piper of high-living deficit spending on to our children, grandchildren and generations not yet a gleam in their father’s eye. It doesn’t take the intelligence of a rocket scientist or brain surgeon to sense the wrong in this. Why should such sit so well in the minds of those politically high positioned. Whatever happened to common sense? It certainly seems not to be common anymore.
As I sat there muttering to myself, I could hear the comments of a tiny screech owl expressing his opinion to the world just outside my skylight window. While I listened, I stirred through my grin bin and you won’t believe what I came up with. Here it is:
The English language has some wonderfully anthropomorphic collective nouns for various groups of animals. We are all familiar with a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish and covey of quail.
When you hear geese gabble while grazing, it is of little surprise that these honking, web-footed social creatures are referred to as a gaggle of geese, and seeing the smug smile on their woolly hair covered faces, it is understandable why the big-maned cats are called a pride of lions.
Less widely known is a murder of crows, which includes their larger black feathered cousins, rooks and ravens. And fittingly also as they burst into flight is an exaltation of doves. And, presumably because they look so wide-eyed wise, a congress of owls.
Now look at baboons! They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates – and what is the collective noun for a group of baboons? If your thoughts flow with mine, you have probably already guessed it. Yes, a Parliament.
A parliament of baboons!
Are there better words to equate such being so? Don’t expect my thoughts to stray beyond the probability of genetic throwbacks, swinging down from the trees in which we once swung. It just ain’t gonna happen.
Take care, ‘cause we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-986-4105