My Take by Mark McGee
Why did the duck cross the road? Like a chicken, of course it crosses to get to the other side.
But why was there a duck in the middle of Colloredo Boulevard? As far as I know, there is no body of water around. The white duck was obviously wondering the same thing. As bewildered as it appeared to be, I hope it got safely to the other side of the road.
Noting the look on the duck’s face, I was reminded of the opening lyrics of the song “Baltimore” written and recorded by Randy Newman. The song has been covered many times including a version by Nina Simone.
“Beat-up little seagull on a marble stair
“Trying to find the ocean, looking everywhere”
That duck, like the seagull, was trying to head home.
In these troubling times aren’t we all looking for not only home, but the comfort of home?
Based on the senseless violence around us there are a lot of people more lost than the duck or seagull. They have lost all concept of home and what it means, not only physically but mentally.
There are all kinds of quotes about the importance of home and what it should mean to us. I am not going to start trying to list them.
Like taking the wrong exit off of an interstate highway, so many appear to have taken the wrong direction in their lives. Instead of trying to correct their mistake, they just keep driving deeper and deeper into hopelessness and despair.
Life is a journey. And like all journeys there are encounters with happiness, surprises good and bad, detours and potholes. Even a paved road is going to have its rough spots.
As Lance Bennett, my preacher at Fairlane Church of Christ, wrote in his message in our bulletin this past week, whether we are walking or riding, there are going to be pauses in our lives that turn us in a different, if not pleasing, direction.
Those pauses can be deaths, sickness, accidents or all sorts of other types of unexpected unpleasantness. The question is how do we get back on the right track after the pause?
The Bible is a great start. Talking to understanding friends or family. Meeting with a therapist. Whatever it takes to unfold your road map (yes, they used to be folded and free at most gas stations) to find your way home.
We are all just wanderers in this life. If you are lost like that duck or seagull I pray you find the direction you need. We all need our homes whatever and wherever they may be.
