Sam stood in Silence watching Cheyenne run toward the large Dust Devil swooping up dirt and crop debris from the fallow field in front of him.
Cheyenne deftly leapt over one field mound after another until, at last, she stopped and stepped into the center of the tornadic Dust Devil.
Eyes squinted almost shut. One arm outstretched, while her other hand pinched her nose closed. Mouth shut tight with lips upturned into a huge grin. Cheyenne attempted to absorb and analyze everything she could from her experience within the whirling Dust Devil.
Suddenly, as if it had a mind of its own, the Dust Devil skipped away from Cheyenne picking up more dust and debris as it roiled around in spasmodic starts and stops while continuing to travel further out into the field of dry dirt.
Cheyenne jumped jubilantly up into the air, and spun herself around, landing sure-footedly with her legs outstretched between one of the field mounds. Smiling with pure joy, her Eyes bright with wonder and excitement, she looked at Sam and said, “Isn’t the Earth such a wondrous Planet to be alive on ?!”
Sam smiled back at Cheyenne a little uncertainly, “Cheyenne, you sure are a handful.”
“And what, perchance, does that mean, Sam ?” Cheyenne asked as she jogged up to Sam giving him a big hug.
“It means that you are full of the unexpected. That you See things in the World most folks, like me, don’t See right off the bat.”
“Sam, I don’t mean to be rude, but most folks allow themselves to BeCome Sleepwalkers. They BeCome deaf, dumb and blind to the Realities of the Wonders and Beauties around them, because they’re so wrapped up in their own ambitions or baser desires. And we’re all fair game for those things, Sam.”
“I allowed myself to BeCome a Sleepwalker for a long period of time, until some things happened in my life that Woke me up and out of my walking-talking stupor,” Cheyenne said matter-of-factly.
“We all just have to decide to make different and better Choices whenever we can, Sam,” Cheyenne continued. “I’m not different from anyone else. I’m just one of the folks who Woke Up.”
“You should have joined me inside of the Dust Devil, Sam. That was such an amazing experience, to feel all of those natural forces of Earth and Air swirling and curling all around my body, my Thoughts and my Emotions. Better than any roller coaster ride I’ve ever been on !” Cheyenne said exuberantly.
“Maybe I will next time you go chasin’ after Dust Devils,” Sam laughed warmly.
Sam and Cheyenne took one another’s hands, and headed back toward the trail they had been following in the woods.
“Umm, sure feels good to back in the shady green of the trees,” Cheyenne said appreciatively. “The sun is blistering today. It feels hotter than a fire cracker out from underneath the shade of these ‘ole oaks.”
“Yeah, it’s another scorcher, today, that’s for sure,” Sam agreed.
“I am so ready for Fall,” Cheyenne sighed. “I really don’t like the Texas summers much unless I can be either out on or by the Water.”
“What kind of Water ?”
“Fresh or Salty. River. Lake or Ocean. Matters not to me. They’re all wonderful in their own way. Just full of all kinds of living things, and awaiting adventures and fun,” Cheyenne said with Dancing Eyes.
“Why don’t we head out to the Blanco River for a little kayaking
expedition ?” Cheyenne asked expectantly.
“Let’s save that for tomorrow, why don’t we. We’ll get an early start on the day, and take the River by sunrise,” Sam suggested. “Right now, let’s just stay focused on gettin’ back to the truck. My stomach’s beginnin’ to talk back to me.”
“Ha ! Well, alright. It’s only a couple more miles up the trail. Is that fast enough to quiet your rumbling belly ?”
“It’ll have to be,” Sam admitted ruefully.
“After we eat, you wanna’ go Country Dancing at Gruene Hall later on ?”
Cheyenne asked lightly. “People’s Choice is playing there, and I’d love to see Howard, Stacy and the Gang.”
“Sure. Why not,” Sam agreed. “It’s not like we have to spiff up or anything to be accepted at the front door. They take you as your are.”
“And that’s the way things should always be as far as I’m concerned,” Cheyenne said firmly with a grin.
“Yes, I’m well aware of that,” Sam said with amusement.
“Sam, look !” Cheyenne exclaimed pointing up at the sky. “Look at that Red-Tailed Hawk chasing after that little Sparrow !”
Sam and Cheyenne watched the Death Struggle with uneasy fascination. Half wanting the small Sparrow to escape the deadly clutches and beak of the merciless Predator, and half understanding that the Hawk was only after his life-sustaining full meal deal.
Sam’s stomach growled loudly, as he and Cheyenne watched the Death Struggle in the Sky, and then the small Sparrow did something that surprised them both.
The small Sparrow left the forward escape route it had been on, trying to outrun the Red-Tailed Hawk, and unexpectedly stalled and dipped below the Hawk, falling behind the speeding Predator.
Then the small Sparrow began to rapidly run in and out of, and peck at, the Red-Tailed Hawk’s tail feathers, making it very difficult for the Hawk to maintain its Balance and Flight Control.
The Red-Tailed Hawk began to struggle to, not only to stay in the Air, but to get the small Sparrow out in front of it for a lethal strike.
However, the small Sparrow continually managed to get back behind the Hawk and attack its tail feathers.
Finally, after continuing to fly lower and lower over the tops of the trees, the Hawk gave up and made a break from its small, pesky Prey, and the Sparrow fluttered into a thick patch of leaves, disappearing from sight within the camouflaging canopy of the Oak Trees.
“That was amazing !” Cheyenne announced. “What a smart and brave little Sparrow.”
“Well, I’d have to say it was one mighty Lucky Sparrow,” Sam replied.
“Sam, that Sparrow wasn’t Lucky,” Cheyenne disagreed. “Well, maybe there was a little bit of Luck involved. But for the most part, that Sparrow is still alive because it made some good and courageous tactical and strategic Choices by going underneath and getting behind that Hawk in order to mess with its tail feathers, making it almost impossible for the Hawk to stay in the sky, much less try and gobble-up the little Sparrow.”
“Animals have their own kind of Smarts and Courage, Sam,” Cheyenne continued. “It’s just that we, Human Beings, are too arrogant or too Asleep to See it.”
“Last year, when I was hiking with some Friends through the woods around Enchanted Rock, I saw another Red-Tailed Hawk go after a Mockingbird,” Cheyenne said.
“Suddenly, a whole flock of fussing Mockingbird’s began to fly out of the trees, and as a group, chased the Red-Tailed Hawk out of their territory, as well as saving the life of the Mockingbird the Hawk had originally gone after,” Cheyenne recounted. “And that was just as amazing to watch as what we saw that little Sparrow do today to save its own life from that Hawk.”
“I’ve been around animals of all kinds my whole life, Sam,” Cheyenne explained. “And they are both Smart and Courageous. They just look and speak differently than we do, and have a few little habits here and there that are different from Human Beings. But, to my way of Thinking and Being, we still need to treat them all with same Decency and Respect that we should all be treating every Human Being with.”
“Their Lives have just as meaning as ours. Just because Human Beings are presently the top dog Predators on the Food Chain Totem Pole, does not necessarily make Us more important than any of them in the overall scheme of things, Sam.”
“Life is a Precious Miracle no matter what form it exists within. All Life deserves Reverence, Dignity and Respect,” Cheyenne declared.
“In fact, it seems to me that if the Middle Class, the Working Poor and the Poor wanna’ start getting control of their Lives and their Realities they need to start to Individually and Collectively mess with the tail feathers and feeding schemes of the Malevolently Predatory Elites. The Malevolent Capitalists. The Malevolent Predatory Banks. The Malevolent Predatory Corporations. The Malevolently Predatory Politicians and Autocratic Executives like we have now, while remembering that not all of the folks working within those areas of Manmade Enterprises are Malevolently Predatory,” Cheyenne said with vigor.
“My experience has taught me that not everyone who is in Power or extremely Wealthy is a Malevolent Capitalist or Cruel and Selfish Despot. There are some Benevolent Capitalists and Leaders doing a lot of good things in the World,” Cheyenne explained.
“Trouble is that most of them are not in Political Power right now,” Cheyenne said exasperatedly.
“Cheyenne, please, let’s not get into the weeds of politics today,” Sam said emphatically. “Those folks are gonna’ do exactly what they wanna’ do no matter what you and I say or do. And that’s a fact.”
“And that Attitude of yours, and lot of other folks, is just why they continue to get by with the things that they do, Sam,” Cheyenne said defiantly. “You always feel as though you can’t or shouldn’t Do anything to Take Up for yourselves or to Change things for the Better for Everyone.”
“You’re not willing to ruffle the tail feathers or Chase the Malevolent Predators away or Cage them in jails until they learn how to better behave themselves in more Decent and Benevolent ways that Benefit Everybody, not just their own, mean and selfish, little selves,” Cheyenne proclaimed.
“Sam, I have told you where I stand on these things,” Cheyenne said. “I Believe that Universal Love, Compassionate Action and Equal Rights and Opportunities for Every Human Being are what Heal and Make the World a Better, a more Fair and Just place, for Everyone, and for all other Living Creatures to Live upon.”
“Are you done ?” Sam said casually.
“Maybe,” Cheyenne answered.
“Why did I have to fall in Love with a Wild Child, Independent Democrat ?” Sam asked laughingly.
“And why did I have to fall in Love with a Mad Cappin’, Tea- Partyin’ Republican ?” Cheyenne quipped.
“I do Love you, Cheyenne Avery.”
“And, I do Love you, too, Sam Saylor,” Cheyenne said gently. “Even though this is not the kind of Love I was speaking about before.”
“Oh, but isn’t it ?” Sam asked playfully. “Come on, girl. Let’s pick up the pace. We’ve got some Life reverin’ Dust Devil Dancin’ to do.”