June 22, 2008
Saddest picture on the internet?
(The link only goes to the blog I found this on)
I want to gauge my psychology as compared to other Alkaline Earth-ers. I imagine that the sequence of photos below evokes several simultaneous emotions in you, but what I want to know is: are you closer to laughing or crying?
I can't help but chuckle.
The remaining duckling is clearly superior, and natural selection has taken its course.
Verdict: hilarious. I imagine the ducklings floating in a pool of gross at the bottom of the drain (not hilarious but not deadly either).
I've seen this before, so I don't know if my first reaction is laugh/cry. I suppose a little of both, Im a bit of a tenderheart at times.
I remember when I was on the Capitol Visitors Center job I saw the most wonderfully sad thing. It seems there is always 1 or 2 pairs of ducks that will nest on Capitol Grounds. Kind of a bad idea as there are tons of rats and preditory birds and other more urban hazzards. I will say when the Ducks nest they are protected by the Capitol Police from human disturbance (they nested in a construction dumpster the first year, the Police roped it off with Do Not Cross tape. When the ducklings finally hatched that dumpster was sitting on a pyramid of dirt about 40' high, as they continued to excavate all around it) but back to the story. The sight I did see was a momma and her baby ducklings walking around in a quiet area at the edge of the job and of the four ducklings one of them only had 1 leg! It was following along though, gamely pogo'ing along on its one leg. I tell you, that sight alone made you want to laugh and cry at the same time. When mom started to go up some steps the 3 siblings were able to follow, but ole' 1 leg couldn't pogo up high enough. They waited for a bit as 1 leg kept gamely trying. Finally he (she?) found a step about 2 ft around the corner where it wasn't quite as high and rejoined the group. I quietly watched all this and gave an inward hurrah at the achievment, but it was with a heavy heart. Even the healthy ducklings at the Capitol usually didn't make it, so I figured this guy was eventually a goner no matter what. Mother Nature can be a cold mistress.
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Honestly, 1st reaction was not yours. 1st reaction was, "aww poor ducks, unless the photographer is going to pry up that storm grate and fish some ducklings out, they're toast."
2nd reaction though was yours, "well I guess that is natural selection in an urban environment at play."
3rd reaction, smart ass in me asserts itself, "someone call DPS, (duckling protective services) clearly this is a ducked up, negligent mother."
posted by Vanalyn at 03:57PM CST on June 23