Creatures Lowly and Majestic

My minister friend Thomas took Whipper, his miniature dachshund to church again last Sunday. His sermon was about unconditional love. Right there in front of God and the whole congregation, he let Whipper slobber all over his face with abundant wet kisses. I know, I know: happiness is a warm puppy. And watching a bald eagle in flight can make us break out with goose bumps. And giving a few dollars to "save the whales" is a righteous thing to do.

But there are also far more humble, even obnoxious critters among God's creatures, far less easy to love. The poet Theodore Roethke once boasted, "I can love a slug." Can you?

The Bible, in general, is rather fond of lowly creatures, though hard on snakes for some reason. Birds tend to be more favorably looked upon, and astonishingly plentiful: turtle doves, ravens, eagles, certainly. Long before they stood for mighty patriot dreams of Americans, eagles in the Bible represented all-encompassing kind of might, that of God herself (God is compared to a mother eagle). We're told that it was a dove which represented the third person of the Holy Trinity at Jesus' baptism. But in Bible times as well as now, the dove's first cousin, the pigeon, was more commonly spotted. Could the Holy Spirit actually have been accompanied by a slightly-fatter-than-a-dove pigeon? (I can still hear an ex-boyfriend of mine dismissively referring to pigeons as "airborn rats"- apologies to those of you who have pet rats and love them!) Other negatively-connotated pigeon-phrases come to mind: "pigeon-toed. Pigeon-brained. Stool pigeon. Pigeon-chested. Have you even once ever heard of the stout heart of a pigeon, or of a pigeon hero?" (P. Uschuk). There's even a website for pigeon kickers.

But guess what? God created over five hundred pigeon species! Due to human overkill, some are now endangered, some already extinct. "Among the present-day 200+ breeds of domestic pigeons, there are as many as 1250 differ3ent varieties, including such exotics as pouters, tumblers, fantails, nuns, priests, archangels, trumpeters, and homing or carrier pigeons. Someone out there must love them a lot to have created and sustained so many kinds! Of course, we humans have also killed off the pigeon's natural predators - the wolf, hawk, falcon, fox, and ferret, all of which once feasted on the now more overpopulated kind! Pigeons are the sole members of the avain world who - like we who are mammals, produce milk for their young. Pigeon pairs can sometimes be spotted mating smack-dab in the middle of the street. Like all passionate couples, they are completely oblivious to all else. Cursing drivers may or may not swerve to avoid hitting them. But pigeons, it would seem, can't stop loving even to save their own lives.

Just "flying rats"? Well, what if they are? Jan S. will be glad to tell you that rats are among the most intelligent of animals! Rats were once the favorite of the Buddha himself. I have to admit that I'm grateful for Dennis H's pied piper ability to send them forth rather than bring them hither, but hey, that's just me. Both pigeons and rats are hardy and adaptable. So are cockroaches and coyotes. (Uschuck:) "They're survivors. And it may just be that they resemble us too closely for us ever to appreciate their beauty or admit their rightful place in the natural world."