Birds of a Bloody Feather

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Jake and Tom were two large vultures who had always stuck together through thick and thin. On this day, the two picked-away at an old deer carcass laying at the crest of a hill, between lanes of an outstretched desert highway.

Jake stopped to examine their situation, while his stomach grumbled with hunger. “There’s nothing left of this dried out pile of bones,” Jake said, “Why don’t you and I go find us a fresh, juicy kill?”

“Out in this wasteland? That could take all day,” Tom complained, “I’m staying put!”

Just then, Jake saw a fast moving tractor trailer come up over the hill.

“Look, a roller of doom is upon us. Fly!”

As the mighty truck quickly closed-in, the two birds flew upward and across the lane, resting safely on a sagging telephone wire, as their feathers fluttered in the fierce backwash.

Watching the vehicle recede into the distance, Tom said, “Now why couldn’t I be like that amazing animal. It has no fear and can kill anything it likes. I bet it never has to worry about its next meal.”

Jake turned to his friend with eyes squinting, “I’m getting the hint that you don’t like being a vulture.”

“Yes, I hate to say it, but I’m *not* happy being me, and perhaps it’s time for a change,” Tom said.

“Well, good luck with that, pal.” Jake chuckled with a winged slap on Tom’s back, causing him to go airborne, and then glide back around to his perch.

“But seriously,” Tom continued, “why were we born this way, Jake? All we do is toil under the hot sun day after day. I tell ya, it’s a pitiful existence.”

Jake shook his head, “Good grief, do I have to remind you about vulture nature? You and I come from a long line of proud carcass eaters. Sure, it’s okay to dream about being different, but in the end, you have to accept that changing is just not in the cards, buddy. Wish all you want, but the facts are, you can *never* take the vulture out of a vulture.”

Tom wasn’t listening. His eyes were fixed on the last bit of meat attached to the bones across the road. “I’ve got more important things to do than listen to lectures,” he said as he flapped his large dusty wings. At the same moment, another truck happened to be passing. Failing to see the vehicle, Tom collided with the windshield, and was tossed into the weeds below the phone wires.

“Tom!” Jake screamed. Flying to his fallen buddy’s side, the proud scavenger began to cry. “You crazy dreamer, why didn’t you see doom coming?” After calming himself, Jake gazed upon Tom’s lifeless body and spoke, “You were my partner, and regardless of your whining, I loved you like a brother. Jake’s heart then began to beat hard as his stomach grumbled. “But, I digress. Like I said, dear friend, you can *never* take the vulture out of a vulture.”

With that, Jake partook in his first fresh meal in days.