Rooster

You would think I live on a farm. I can count twenty six roosters (and one duck!?) from where I sit. No, not real crowing type roosters; just rooster carpets, a rooster clock, rooster placemats, rooster picture frames…… and I could go on and on. After many years I am still not sure of their redeeming value other than they make my wife very happy. That’s enough for me. I am just grateful that very expensive merchants have not come out with “limited rooster editions” in their marketing strategies for their high end products. (that I know of) I am not sure when I started to notice my wife’s fascination with roosters (which I once mistakenly called her “chickens”, but never again). I know that in 1992 (before they were “in”) she inherited two that have special significance. She has very good tastes and all are artfully integrated into our everyday lives. As she says, “they’re just for pretty”. In addition, none of these items cost more than the low the double digits (I think) and don’t break the bank. (unlike my technological gadgetry fascination) These roosters are so much a part of my life that they seldom register anymore until visitors comment. I am amazed to see sections of catalogs that now seemed geared exclusively for my wife. How did they find out? I am not sure why a cock or a chanticleer (male chicken) is called a rooster, but then only in the United States and Australia. They do indeed like to roost three or four feet above the ground but so do the female hens. I do know that my wife would never be able to keep twenty six real roosters within my eyesight. I have witnessed real roosters fight to the death (not in the United States). Even without the silver fighting spurs that those sported, the birds were vicious. Chickens are polygamous and a rooster never rests trying to guard his territory and harem. They are constantly trying to expand their territory even though they seemingly go crazy trying to desperately preserve what they have. They seldom can guard the individual hens and eggs so they just stake out a territory with no individual bonding. They make all kinds of strutting actions and sounds (including the famous crowing) to bring more hens into their fold and will attack anything other than a hen. Interestingly, in the wild, this can be their downfall just like gobbler turkeys that hunter call with turkey calls. In contrast my thoughts go back to the famous movie “March of the Penguins”. Penguins are monogamous (documented at least for a breeding season). The male penguin’s focus is on sharing the duties of incubating and raising a chick in a harsh environment. Penguins are social and band together for the good of the colony especially when the frigid winds are unmerciful. I think of the stark contrast of the male roosters and the male penguins. I realize that both are “hard wired” to act the way that they do. I think of the years I have spent in “male environments” in a species where we have choices of how we are going to act. My heart breaks when I see a male population on the streets and in the pods of our jails that remind me of roosters. You see, sadly they have never had the joy and fulfillment of experiencing penguin like nurturing. Won’t you join me in being a “father model” to someone today? We have the ability to see, experience, and change.