The Free Radical

Oh look, an eagle, I thought delightedly. Eagle medicine is always a good way to start the day…

And then… Look! Another one– that’s twice as good! They’re such graceful masters of the sky…

When the third one, and eventually a fourth, came on the scene I quickly figured out that them ain’t eagles! Only Turkey Vulture can ride the thermals that effortlessly in such tight spirals in the sky. Wherever Turkey Vulture congregates there’s sure to be significant happenings afoot– or perhaps, a-sky. Somewhere nearby there was a carcass of something big– a deer or better.

Their flight patterns clearly telegraphed the general vicinity of the kill. It was down a steep and heavily-treed embankment from where I stood in the open field beneath the power line. As much as I relished the unique filming opportunity a fresh carcass might provide, I was reluctant to venture into thick brush to search on the hillside. Instead, I asked Turkey Vulture what I might find had I the gumption to go look.

Tight-lipped bastards! They wouldn’t answer. Then I laughed because, of course, vultures don’t have lips. In fact, they have little to no vocal capacity at all. Silence is their way… which is not to say that they were incapable of delivering a clear and precise message– which eventually they did, once I was prepared to receive it.

At first I was excited to know what had been killed and by whom. And I wanted to know who all had been invited to the feast… but Vulture wouldn’t tell me. I silently cursed the riders in the sky as I walked the edge of the ridge upon which I stood hoping to catch a glimpse of the drama below. Alas, the forest was too thick; I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Then it began to dawn on me that Vulture had indeed prepared a message specifically for me… and perhaps for those who read these daily missives.

“Yes. Rather than curse us for what we do not reveal, listen instead to what we do have to say. Foremost, heed this warning: You have not been invited to the feast. Should you choose to forgo caution and prudence, you will become the feast.” Well, that was clear enough, and I must admit that as my journey wore on it was also clear that Vulture was keeping a close eye on me the whole time. Their sky antics were very obviously centred around me. I took the warning seriously.

“A new vision is unfolding,” continued Vulture. “We are here to properly dispose of the old. We know what we’re doing. Your time for accepting and holding the new vision is here, yet patience and care are still required. Meditate on the energy of the Phoenix… and remember River, your brother.”

To readers, that last bit might seem a bit cryptic, and all I will say is that River Phoenix– the actor– was my “brother.” And well, that’s a whole other story.