Gil, when I was about ten, my brothers and I were about 1/2 mile from home catfish fishing one summer day. While lolling around waiting for a bite a great blue heron landed about 20 yards from us on the shoreline of the river. One of my brothers, who was pretty good at this sort of thing, in youthful ignorance and excitement, picked up a rock and took aim. He managed to stun the bird, whereupon my other brother rushed in and grabbed it.

So we are standing there, my brother holding the bird, one hand around the neck just below the head and the other arm and hand pinning the bird's body and wings against his.

Now that we have a live blue heron , the only thing left to do is to show it to someone, so we headed home to show my dad. As we were walking along the gravel road, about half way, I guess my brother with the bird got a little complacent as suddenly the bird's head (and of course beak) snapped towards the brother who had beaned it with the rock. Missed by a fraction of an inch. Could have been a real disaster!

With a much snugger grip and a bit more focus, we got home with it, showed it off and let it go. Pretty sure he was happy to be rid of us.

All three of us have had a healthy respect for those kinds of beaks ever since.

The world cries out for such: he is needed & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia