Fly and Fall

NN1506 Earl Plato
I don’t know if they believed me. I had just described my sighting many years ago of a Southern flying squirrel at the entrance to Marcy Woods. Here in late October the Special Needs Class of St.Paul’s High School and some parents and helpers listened to my oft repeated spiel. We stopped at the site of our sighting. “One early morning Ray Willwerth and I saw a southern flying squirrel glide from the high top of that spruce tree over there. It sailed several feet and landed over there at the top of another spruce. I knew what I saw for I had seen flying squirrel sbefore. The word is ‘glide’ not ‘fly.’ The Ministry of Natural Resources did a study of Marcy Woods and found at least three pairs of these unique squirrels there. They are mainly nocturnal creatures so it’s as an unusual sight.” What do you know about this Carolinian mammal?
Not much you say. You need to be in the woods at night and luckily your flashlight will reveal the large bright shiining bkack eyes of this miniscule squirrel. It is a very small squirrel with a silky fur coat. The ones I saw were grayish-brown on top and white underneath. It has a fkattened gra-brown tail. Think small. Length from 7 3/4 inches (198 mm) to 10 1/8 inches (255 mm.). Shagbark Trail enthusiasts listen. They like shagbark hickory, beech and maple trees. Let’s import some of these attractive squirrels, eh?
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A lesson of life. Polio, a dreadful disease of the 1930’s, and I had it.
The result? Some atrophy on my right side. A right foot arch drawn up and shortened. Worst of all a permanent imbalance. Before polio I climbed tall trees and high up our old barn. Fearless, they said. Now at age 10 I would have to learn to ride all over. I found it was easier to balance on the bike by pushing off and moving than to balance a motionless bike. I fell again and again. I tried again and again. There were some hard falls and scrapes on arms and knees. Sometimes brother Ed would give me a push. I needed to have motion. Gary Stanley once wrote, “It was kind of trying to convince a baby bird that once out of its nest it would do what it never had done - fly. That kind of thinking needed a push to get started!” Finally I could ride but with many a fall. I conquered the skill and with continued practice I learned to compensate and ride no handed. What a thrill of accomplishment!
Life can be a matter of falls but with determination and a faith in a caring God you can get up and try again.