"Uwak..." Says the Crow (Happy Father's Day)

“UWAK…” SAYS THE CROW…

In the elementary grades I learned a song that says: “A friendly crow and a hawk sail to the skies…”Uwak…” says the crow, meaning, “we are flying high”
Hawks, Eagles and Crows are supposed to fly high in the skies to see a wider panorama while searching for their prey.

I have a pair of crows caught by my farmer when newly hatched. They were fed by my helpers until they learned how to fly. They became so used and adjusted to our environment that they just stay within our premises. They learned to eat fruits and other food, far from the chicks that they were genetically trained to catch and swallow as food.

They shout “Uwak” when they are hungry, afraid, happy or when strangers enter our gate. They are not colorful for they are black all over. They utter nothing but “Uwak…Uwak…!!!”, yet they are bringing a lot of cheers and joy everyday.

A bird need not be ‘talkative’ like the parrot and the mina, colorful like the oriole or romantic like the love birds to be able to bring about happiness. All a bird needs to be is be itself no matter how simple and lowly it looks. ”Uwak” can mean many things: It is a friendly good morning on waking up; a request for food when hungry; a greeting of hello to visitors; or a warm thank you when gratified. Whatever it means the sound “Uwak” makes me feel good. The couple of crows in our garden, black as they are, bring colors to our plants. Their solitary quaking sound is the sweet symphony that greeted me Happy Father’s Day this morning on my way to hear the Mass.

“Of course…!!!” I responded to a friend who, instead of greeting me Happy Father’s Day, teasingly asked: “Happy Father???” Happiness is relative. Different fathers have different reasons to be happy as different fathers have different roles to play.

Happiness is a subjective feeling, not just an objective behavior that indicates mirth. Any father who has been successful in pursuing his role in life should be happy, not only on Father’s Day but anytime of the year.

Some fathers use their physical strength to excel in their endeavors but there are fathers who use their intellectual capabilities to do many good things. A few fathers depend on their mind power to achieve and to be of help to others. At any rate fathers should be thankful that society is acknowledging the role of father on this special day. Look! Even the black crows know what I mean.