A Goose Story

When I was walking on the bike trail the other day, I noticed a lone goose ahead of me.  He was walking in the same direction that I was.  He had a chain link fence on his left, and the river on his right.

A flock of his compatriots were happily feeding in a grassy field beyond the chain link fence.  The fence had just started a few feet behind me.  He must have wandered around the end of it before I came along, and accidentally gotten separated from his flock.

A bicyclist came at him from the other direction.  The goose got agitated, but the wise cyclist gave him a wide berth and quickly moved past.  I was surprised that this goose did not fly over the fence to be with his fellows.  That's what I would have done.

The goose kept looking over at his family and friends, honking.  As I continued my walk, approaching closer to him, he began really crowding the fence, looking up, down, and all around for a way through it. No such luck.  If he could have climbed through one of those tiny little holes, he would have.  He desperately wanted to get away from me and back to his people.  In a word, he was distressed.

I wondered if I would be able to get past him without being attacked.  You might laugh, but Canada geese can be very aggressive.  They have been known to attack people when they feel threatened.  So I was cautious.

I thought to myself that if I could get past him, then maybe I could herd him back the other way, to where the fence ended.  Then he could rejoin his group.  Otherwise, if he continued in his original direction, he would be cut off from his family by half a mile of fence or more, as it circled around a factory and out of sight.  I knew he would be ok in the end, but we humans like to feel helpful, and I could see myself as the hero of the day - "Woman Helps Goose Reunite With Family!"

The goose took matters into his own wings, and out of desperation he fled down the rocky embankment and  into the river.  He was now completely out of sight of the other geese, but at least he was heading back in the  right direction.  He eyed me suspiciously as he paddled vigorously away.  I wished him luck and continued my walk, wondering how it would all turn out for him.

Twenty minutes later as I returned along the same path, I saw him again, back on the bike trail.  He was very near the end of the chain link fence, and I felt great hope that he would soon be reunited with his feathered friends - if he could just get around the end of that barrier!  He was facing the wrong way, however, and I wondered what kind of goose thoughts he was thinking.  Was he just sunbathing, or was he still confused about how to get to the other geese?

Suddenly, another goose appeared, having flown over from the grassy field.  The two of them had a brief, loud reunion, and then swooped away to a nearby pond.  Finally he was back among his own kind!  I shouted congratulations to them, and felt happy in my heart.  No one likes to be in forced separation from their family.

I don't know for sure, but I think this particular goose was born just this spring, and was a novice at dealing with such barriers.  Baby Canada geese stay with their families for a year before going off on their own, and they are never so happy and comfortable as when they are with their flock.  I was glad to see the end of his little drama, and couldn't help but extrapolate to human relationships.  Sometimes in life we wander off course and find ourselves separated from our friends and family.  Once we realize this, we may look back on our life regretfully, and wonder how to get back.  There is usually someone else who sees our situation more clearly than us, and could help us if we would let them.  I hope that if any of us find ourselves in such a situation, that we will go directly to the source of all help - our loving Heavenly Father - and seek for inspiration to know what we are to do.