Kickass

Kickass and familiarity breeding

Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper, enjoying a walk with Phyllis around Tiedeman Pond where Canada geese are raising their young, was struck by how his mental image of the big birds has changed over his lifetime.  From the high-flying majestic V’s of his boyhood with their seasonal messages of mystery and exotic places, to their current poultry-yard personas as nuisance park-occupiers, the geese may be the ultimate proof that familiarity does indeed breed contempt, as has been expressed for thousands of years. (Even as this was being written a trio of honking geese flew overhead.)  The keeper wonders, of course, if, beyond the geese, there is appropriate application of the old “familiarity” adage in the current “stay home” tactic for avoiding the coronavirus?  In responding to his own curiosity, the keeper likes the take of Mark Twain who said, “Familiarity breeds contempt—and children.”  Will birth rates in early 2021 prove Twain right?  The keeper thinks so. as he recalls the high-flying flocks of his youth.

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