Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Roadside Assistance




It was the first warm day of spring and there were frogs to be rescued. I managed to rescue 4 on Ditch Road heading out to the swamps. The road was a mine field of dead frogs. Dozens were splattered hither and yon over the blacktop, except for the 4 I plucked and put safely on sleepy brown earth, ditch side.

I seemed to be the only driver on the road aware of the massacre in progress. No one else was swerving and leaping from their car, gently scolding the frogs for kamikaze behavior. No one else had frog slime on their fingers.  No one else gave last rites to the little souls who survived the winter in a ditch and were crushed on their first day back in the sun.

There is too much speeding by and too little concern for the glorious details of this life. So many important things are being missed and uncared for. There are people in pain and children being neglected and water being polluted and frogs being crushed. There is no way to attend to it all, and surely not enough time in a day, but if we each care for a portion of the details, if we each attend to a specialized niche, the overall glory of this life we all share will shine a whole lot brighter.

So, I ask you, what is your chosen niche? What neglected details tug at your heart  and compel you beyond reason to right a wrong or save a soul or care when no one else will? One niche for me is definitely roadside assistance.

9 comments:

  1. The words "oh no" sprang out loud from me when I saw your 1st picture. Oh. No. I would have been with you rescuing frogs. It is part of my niche also. It may be genetic - I have rescued a puppy from the middle of a highway, my brother has done the same for a kitten. I have less compassion for people, I admit - I see them all day long, those who refuse to work, who loll about our area downtown, expecting handouts, not wanting jobs - it is perhaps mean of me, but there you have it with no apologies. I pick up after them - I am also a trash picker-upper. Their empty cigarette packs, the cigarette butts tossed onto the sidewalk, the food cartons and candy wrappers and empty drink cans left in our back parking lot, on our front window ledges. No, no sympathy for people like that. But I will clean their mess after they move on.

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  2. Why my girls and I make a regular practice of heading out JUST to rescue frogs. It is in the details, it is. Heroism. You are one of us! lol
    You know, my niche is really encouragement. I thrive on pushing people to achieve their maximum. It has taken me YEARS to come to this conclusion but to me I get rewarded when I help others achieve. Goals, dreams, nothing is beyond anyone's reach. So, when a frog is hopping madly across the road. I sometimes just get off my bike and wait, protectively overtop while whispering, GO! GO! You can do it. :)

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  3. Deb~ animals, birds and cold blooded creatures all get roadside assistance. dead or alive. especially cats. like you, i am a trash picker up-er. i agree on the lazy people thing. you are my kindred, for sure.

    Gillian~ i know of your gift of encouragement. :) i've been blessed by it and thank you. yay for frog rescuers. no wonder i like you so much. see you this spring, darlin'.

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  4. Oh Graciel, you are the rescuer. You are such an inspiration. I'm not really sure what my niche is or if I have one, but I do wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment you express here.

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  5. Oh gosh, we live near a swamp and often run into the same problem, oops, no pun intended. I have never gotten out of my car to save any frogs, but I do try to avoid them. I do, however, rescue spiders. I never kill them. I either put them outside, or in winter, leave them where they are. My mom and sister think I am nuts.
    But I so agree with what you said in your post, we should all stop and attend to such things whenever possible. I have another blog (www.mrsmediocrity.com) and the post I just added there covers a strangely similar topic.

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  6. That first photo wrenches the heart. Still...it's such a good shot! I love your compassion. I like to think I'm a rescuer...and I'm learning a lot about it from you!

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  7. Anonymous3/26/2010

    You truly ARE an angel!!!!

    I love, LOVE the truths in your 3rd paragraph.

    As for my niche? Hmmmmm...

    It's a secret :-0

    Hee, hee!

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  8. When I was 6, I stayed with a blackbird for half an hour while he passed away and then tearfully made a serious funeral for him. When I was 10, I rescued a stray cat from mean boys on the way home from school. When I was 13, I rescued literally hundreds of tadpoles from hot, little, waning pools of water with a bucket. I emptied them into a nearby pond. When I was 15, I rescued a poorly treated dog from an owner who thought the dog should be a good hunting dog. This poor puppy hated loud noises...he came to live with me and lived a long long life. He eventually died of old age. When I was 17, I rescued a batch of kittens whose deadbeat mother birthed them in a bin of rye seed. The rye seed was clogging up their tiny noses and mouths and they would surely have died. When I was 20, I rescued a little black kitty whose arm had been broken and had healed up crooked. She was one of our favorites.
    This isn't all of them, but they are the highlights. Yup, I woulda rescued frogs with you :)

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  9. Bless your heart! I spent my boyhood around creeks and swamps and grew to love the little creatures that lived among the cattails and under the rocks. Frogs, toads and salamanders were my playmates. I used to love the sound of their springtime voices raised in song. Unfortunately acid rain has decimated their numbers in the southeast where I live, so those choruses only live on in my memory.

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I always appreciate the time you take to comment on my blog. Thank you for stopping by. Peace from my heart to yours. xo, Graciel