Dear Editor,
This letter is to continue from a previous letter titled “Life on the Farm.” In that letter we finished with the monkey. I would like to start this letter with the squirrel – a rodent who can cause a lot of damage by knocking down nuts and fruits, digging big holes and always living in schools. They are very intelligent and hard to trap. They have great sense. They spread out from their holes to go feed, always on alert. When they sense danger, they make a special whistle noise and all run back close to their holes. They stand before entering like soldiers who are guarding their post. I admire their intelligence. In birds we have a chicken, and they have been part of feeding most of the world. The eggs are very important in our diet, especially in poor countries. I have seen people argue over an egg.
Back home everybody raised a couple dozen loose chickens. Most people recognized their eggs by color and size. Being loose, usually they cross the boundary – that’s when some discussions can start when it came to identifying the eggs. The bird that I spent time admiring his intelligence is the eagle, watching them flying in circles 200 or 300 yards high looking down on their prey – a rat, a rabbit even a chick. When they find them away from their hole, helpless, they close their wings and dive fast as a bullet hitting their prey usually killing them instantly. It’s a powerful bird. One insect I really admire for the size is the ant. When I see one dragging something 10 times their size, I used to lay down and observe them. They never stop until they get the job done.
My favorite TV shows were about wild animals. I’m not a sitter, but in that case I can spend time. I find anything alive, anything God creates is very unique and equipped with their own ways to survive. The many years I worked out there I learned and enjoyed it but my favorite time was when I headed back to the farm.
I also admire old tall buildings. I try to figure out how people did it in those days. A big ship, airplanes, and the ocean with all the respect can be fun or can be trouble. I was raised close to it and enjoyed diving from high cliffs and swimming for hours. When I was young, fish was my favorite food.
In two trips I took to Toronto, I visited Niagara Falls twice. It is one of the things I most admire. I spent hours observing it and my conclusion was – power of God. Also in Toronto, I had the opportunity to visit the 1,800-foot-tall tower. I had lunch at 1,500 feet at a great restaurant in a room where you can watch a movie of the construction of the tower. It was made with thousands of yards of cement and a thousand tons of metal.
Amadeu Lima, Hollister
