I have never been one for bird watching. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I dislike birds. I just don’t think about them much.
But after my last encounter with a bird, I am starting to develop a sense of bird paranoia. I am not talking about a fear of birds, ornithophobia – a word derived from the Greek “ornithos” (bird) and “phobos” (fear)…
And I am also not a talking about being paranoid of birds…again…I don’t really think about birds all that much….but I do think that I am a magnet for birds that suffer paranoia.
The definition of paranoia…
- noun
1. Psychiatry. a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.
2. baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others.
I think that birds hate me. No. Let me clarify. Birds hate when I drive our minivan and they will go out of their way to attack the minivan…much to their demise.
The picture above is all the evidence that remains that there was ever a small bird on the side of the highway last Sunday morning approximately 10 minutes before church. The only rational explanation for the bird explosion…
(and that’s exactly the proper term for when your minvan hits a bird at 65mph)
When a tragedy like this occurs, you are left with the question… “WHY?”
Maybe the only answer to the question is that the bird was suffering from some kind of bird paranoia.
See definition #2.
(DISCLAIMER: Although this tragic event caught us all by surprise, the author, in full disclosure, must admit that this is not the first time he has “popped” a bird in mid flight…while driving the minivan…on that stretch of highway…at that same time.)