It was a little after 6:00 AM. Pat hadn’t felt well so she hadn’t put out any food out for the crows. She glanced out the window to see if any of them had arrived yet. There were no crows, but she could see a feather lying near the water bowl. That was strange. There hadn’t been any wind, so the feather hadn’t just floated in. The crows must have left it as a gift. In the past, Pat had received a stick, a pebble, and some peanuts from them. She was pleased but continued with her morning chores. A little later, the crows arrived, but Pat was still tired and wasn’t motivated to go out into the cold morning air and feed them. After a while, she looked out and saw that the crows were gone. She was surprised to see that the feather was gone, too. Apparently, the crows were irritated that Pat hadn’t fed them , so they took back the gift. I guess crows have feelings, too.

Dave Thomas

6/26/2025

My wife, Pat, had made a trip to Cosco to pick up a few items she needed. Like many people, we shop at Costco because the prices are good, and the quality is excellent. The only downside is that many items are packaged as multiples, making them heavy and hard to lift. Costco employees are trained to take care of their customers, though, so help is generally available.

On this particular day, the store was very busy, and staff members were running to keep up. Pat was in the health drink section looking at the Boost and Ensure displays. I’m probably the luckiest guy in town because Pat makes me a Boost smoothie or an Ensure smoothie for breakfast. This trip she had selected a carton of 30 bottles of Ensure and that made for a pretty heavy package.

I should note that Pat is 87 years old and arthritis has affected her hands to the point that she has little dexterity.

As she fumbled around trying to pick up the box, a blonde-headed guy shopping next to her noticed her predicament and said, “Let me help you with that!” She watched as the guy easily picked up the box and placed it in her shopping cart. She thanked him and headed for the checkout counter.

Pat paid for the groceries, went outside, and found the van. She placed all of the small items in the van and was struggling to place the box of Ensure in the vehicle.  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a big truck loaded with construction equipment coming down the aisle. The truck pulled up behind her stopped, and a black man swung down from the cab and said, “Let me help you with that!” She thanked him and watched as he easily picked up the box and placed it in the van for her. Pat asked, “Did you just stop for me?” The man said, “I know that some things are hard for older people, so I lend a hand when I can.”

What a great day! Two good men in the same day. Gentlemen!

Dave Thomas

June 19, 2025

Crows keep close tabs on their food sources. They seem to know where Pat is at all times. If she is in the house, they will fly past the windows and peek in. If she is in the car, they will follow her to and from the grocery store, the bank, or the doctor. She’s used to it and really gets a charge out of it. Yesterday, though, she got quite a surprise.

We keep our roll-away trash bins in the garage just for the convenience of being able to roll them down the driveway to the curb on pick-up day. Pat had some trash to get rid of and walked through the house and out the door into the garage. She placed the trash in the bin and let the lid slam shut. Then she thought she heard someone knocking on our front door. She rushed through the house to the front door and looked out the side window. There was Lame Foot standing on the driveway and pecking on the garage door with his beak. He had heard her in the garage and wanted to get her attention. To reward his inventiveness, Pat put out some dry dog food, one of his favorites, and Lame Foot chowed down. You never know what they will do next.

Dave Thomas

June 12, 2025