So some guy comes to my desk today..
...never met him before, rarely seen him. He sits down and says he wants to talk me about something he "watched" me do yesterday.
((((Flashback!))))
Yesterday as I was leaving work, I heard a bunch of furious goose-honking. This isn't necessarily rare, because the geese on our campus have mated and are now protecting their budding nests. Most of the geese around here have already begun ushering their goslings around -- one particular mating pair near our front entrance is still protecting its nest, as the goslings haven't become ready to emerge yet.
I look to the source of the furious honking, and see two geese that look like they're either fighting or screwing. I honestly don't know which, but screwing in this time of year seems unlikely. I sit and watch briefly, next to someone else who says that it's odd to see this. I watch one very angry goose peck the heck out of another one, who is trying desperately to get away. Finally, the fleeing goose just collapses and the attacker is perched on him, pecking away and trying to pull out the other's flight feathers.
Picture this: a rather large, pale white chick takes off her shoes, throws her purse and keys in rain-wet grass, and approaches the birds, smacking the soles of her shoes together loudly. I finally scared off the attacking gander, following him determinedly while smacking my shoes together, chasing him off the other goose. I go back to the collapsed goose. It's still alive, but it's totally out of it. I take off my suit jacket (I'm now half-dressed, wearing a cami, showing off my fuscia bra, walking around barefoot in knee-length skirt.. I know I looked stupid), lay it over the goose, and pick him up. He's not as heavy as I expected, and doesn't fight or make a sound.
My intention was to take him to a vet or rescue shelter, but one of the MANY people who had stopped to watch me (at least a dozen, all GUYS, for crap's sake) remarked that if it's alive, I should be able to just take it away from the situation and it should be fine. Fine. I walk it over to the pond, barefoot, in a cami, across the parking lot. One person who had stopped grabbed my purse, shoes, and keys and I told him which car was mine. He (thankfully) dropped my stuff off in my car, and then followed me to the pond to give me the keys. When I got to the pond, I stopped at a dense copse of trees where I don't see the geese often, and put the bird on the ground. Once its feet hit the ground, he scrambled out of my jacket and underneath a tree. Good sign. I get my keys from the nice man, get in my car, and go home.
(((((Flashback over!)))))
So this guy wants to talk to me about what he "watched (me) do yesterday with the goose." I was honestly expecting to get a lecture about interfering with nature, especially considering I was laughing to myself yesterday about screwing with Natural Selection. He then proceeds to tell me how much he learned from me yesterday, and asked why I did it. I didn't really have an answer for him, so I just said that I like animals (durrrr). He said that he learned the following from me: he appreciated how I took decisive action to solve the situation; he appreciated how I did what needed to be done, without concern about how I "looked"; he appreciated that I didn't take punitive action against the gander that was attacking.
I really do appreciate HIM coming by to tell me these things. I've been working my ass off here lately, and I have to say that my little adventure yesterday was the first time I'd really felt like I'd accomplished something worthwhile here.
((((Flashback!))))
Yesterday as I was leaving work, I heard a bunch of furious goose-honking. This isn't necessarily rare, because the geese on our campus have mated and are now protecting their budding nests. Most of the geese around here have already begun ushering their goslings around -- one particular mating pair near our front entrance is still protecting its nest, as the goslings haven't become ready to emerge yet.
I look to the source of the furious honking, and see two geese that look like they're either fighting or screwing. I honestly don't know which, but screwing in this time of year seems unlikely. I sit and watch briefly, next to someone else who says that it's odd to see this. I watch one very angry goose peck the heck out of another one, who is trying desperately to get away. Finally, the fleeing goose just collapses and the attacker is perched on him, pecking away and trying to pull out the other's flight feathers.
Picture this: a rather large, pale white chick takes off her shoes, throws her purse and keys in rain-wet grass, and approaches the birds, smacking the soles of her shoes together loudly. I finally scared off the attacking gander, following him determinedly while smacking my shoes together, chasing him off the other goose. I go back to the collapsed goose. It's still alive, but it's totally out of it. I take off my suit jacket (I'm now half-dressed, wearing a cami, showing off my fuscia bra, walking around barefoot in knee-length skirt.. I know I looked stupid), lay it over the goose, and pick him up. He's not as heavy as I expected, and doesn't fight or make a sound.
My intention was to take him to a vet or rescue shelter, but one of the MANY people who had stopped to watch me (at least a dozen, all GUYS, for crap's sake) remarked that if it's alive, I should be able to just take it away from the situation and it should be fine. Fine. I walk it over to the pond, barefoot, in a cami, across the parking lot. One person who had stopped grabbed my purse, shoes, and keys and I told him which car was mine. He (thankfully) dropped my stuff off in my car, and then followed me to the pond to give me the keys. When I got to the pond, I stopped at a dense copse of trees where I don't see the geese often, and put the bird on the ground. Once its feet hit the ground, he scrambled out of my jacket and underneath a tree. Good sign. I get my keys from the nice man, get in my car, and go home.
(((((Flashback over!)))))
So this guy wants to talk to me about what he "watched (me) do yesterday with the goose." I was honestly expecting to get a lecture about interfering with nature, especially considering I was laughing to myself yesterday about screwing with Natural Selection. He then proceeds to tell me how much he learned from me yesterday, and asked why I did it. I didn't really have an answer for him, so I just said that I like animals (durrrr). He said that he learned the following from me: he appreciated how I took decisive action to solve the situation; he appreciated how I did what needed to be done, without concern about how I "looked"; he appreciated that I didn't take punitive action against the gander that was attacking.
I really do appreciate HIM coming by to tell me these things. I've been working my ass off here lately, and I have to say that my little adventure yesterday was the first time I'd really felt like I'd accomplished something worthwhile here.