The Ivory-billed Woodpecker, now likely extinct, was the largest woodpecker endemic to North America. Twenty inches long with a wingspan of thirty inches, it was an impressive sight in flight, so impressive that folks who saw it were known to exclaim in awe, "Good lord!" And so, the story goes, it became known colloquially as the Good Lord Bird. The Good Lord Bird was a denizen of the forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. It's unlikely that it ever lived on the prairies of Kansas except in James McBride's imagination. McBride imagines the bird there in the middle of the nineteenth century, sharing "Bleeding Kansas" with the abolitionist John Brown and his "army." In his telling, the woodpecker became a talisman for the abolitionist. He carried its feathers as a good luck charm, a symbol of hope. Like many, I suppose, I have only the most rudimentary knowledge of John Brown and his campaign to destroy the institution of slavery. I am...
Reminds me of home!!!!! :D :D
ReplyDeleteThe guy who invented Simon's cat obviously knows cats very well, Snap! I think all cat lovers can relate.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Simon's kitten is HILARIOUS!
ReplyDeleteLike I said, the man definitely knows cats, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteHilarious! I watched it and immediately jumped up to make Waders watch it too! Reminds me of every cat I've ever known!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think we all know and have known such cats, Susan. There are probably at least three such close to you right now!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen this one before - love it!
ReplyDeleteSimon's cat is Everycat, Jayne, and he's (she's?) just the best!
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