The Rural Voice, 1998-02, Page 14The World from Mabel's Grill
"That looks a lot like life,"
remarked Molly Whiteside as she
watched the birds flock into the bird
feeder Mabel has hung just outside
the side window at the Grill. Mabel
says the feeder gives staff something
to entertain them in the slow hours
when the strange birds aren't perched
around inside.
"Doesn't look much like life to
mc," George McKenzie argued. "I
don't see any bossy waitresses out
there, and the birds are eating for free
— there's nobody sticking a bill
down in front of them."
"Seems to me they've all got bills
in front of them," chortled Dave
Winston.
"No, I mean watch those birds
feeding," Molly said. "See the way
the big blue jays swoop in and all the
little birds have to get out of the way
until they leave? Then they can have
whatever's left over. Isn't that just
like real life? The big guys get first
dibs and the rest of us have to pick
up the crumbs."
"Molly's right," said Cliff Murray.
"It's sort of Nature's trickle down
theory. After the fat guys are stuffed
the little guys can get what's left."
"But," said George, "you notice
that everybody eventually gets fed.
Most of the little birds don't want to
eat the same stuff the blue jays do
anyway."
"Every-
body gets fed
as long as
there's
plenty of
food to go
around,"
Cliff
corrected
him. "If not,
the blue jays
get the food
and every-
body else
fights for the
crumbs."
"It's not
just the birds," Dave said. "Ever
watched the runt of the litter try to
get for food when he's fighting for a
nipple with his bigger brothers and
sisters?"
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10 THE RURAL VOICE
"It's the way of the world,"
George said. "Survival of the fittest.
Makes us all stronger."
"Ych, well I know that if I want to
make a profit in my pigs I've got to
find a way to help the runt catch up,"
Dave said. "I can't afford survival of
the fittest if it means I lose one pig
out of every litter."
"And isn't that why we need a
society that's set up to help the
people who get off to a poor start?"
Molly asked.
"Wait a minute," said Mabel. "I
said no politics in here. How did we
ever get from birds to politics?"
"Look Mabel, we've got to be
able to talk politics. The weather's
been too good around here this
winter so the only thing left to talk
about is politics," said Cliff.
"The politics has been quiet too,"
said Dave. "We haven't had a threat-
ened hospital closing in months."
"Yeh but they turned the
highways over to the county on
January 1," Wayne Bruce said. "As
far as my relatives in the city are
concerned, we're really off the edge
of the world up here now. They
won't drive on a road unless they see
a red line on the provincial road map.
They figure they'll get stuck up to
the axles in mud."
"And even if you can convince
them to overlook the colour of the
line on the map, how the heck do you
describe how to get here," Cliff said.
"You used to say take Highway such
and such. Now the highway has one
name in this county and another in
the next and a third in the third."
"What I can't figure out is what
they're doing with all the tax on the
gas I buy," grumbled George. "I
mean, I pay just as much gas tax to
drive down a township or county
road as the provincial road! I've got
to drive for an hour just to get the
privilege of seeing a road they're
spending my gas tax on."
"I thought that's why you bought
a diesel truck, so you could fill up at
home and not pay tax," Molly said.
"I pay with my car," George shot
back.
"It's sort of survival of the fittest,
George," said Cliff. "Remember,
when the blue jays get the best food
they also leave the biggest crap for
the rest of us to live with."0