The Goose is Loose

There was a pair of Canada Geese nesting on the rooftop directly in front of my office window.  Always wary were these fine fowls.  Should my chair have even rolled into their view just enough for me to see them, an ever vigilant eye would almost immediately open.  They hatched six little goslings!  And then two days later they were gone.  But the goose and gander would occasionally return to check on the nest for some reason or another.

Have you ever watched one of these birds take flight from up close - their wingspans are tremendous!  There is also the suggestion from I don't know when or where in our collective conscious that a goose could break your arm with a beat of it's wing.  Think of the tremendous force that they can create in order to fly.  Really, you'd think that it's quite possible.  

Which brings me to this crazy scene I saw the other day at a local park.  A father was actually encouraging his young child of about two or three years to run around chasing the geese who were feeding.  I thought that this guy must be insane!  Why would you ever send a small child to chase a wild animal.  Even if a goose's wing could not break an adult's arm, I'm pretty certain they could do considerable damage to a young child; possibly even causing a fracture.  Not to mention that they'd likely nip and bite rather sharply.

Shortly after I stared at these people in disbelief, another pair of children did the same thing.  Yeah, the geese are already riled up, it's a great idea.  Just when I think this madness won't end I see a large group of small children and one older brother  running toward the gaggle.  Thankfully, father calls out to stop and not interfere with them and the elder child corrals all the little ones.  Someone else has a sense of reason about them!

Is there a moral to this story - don't chase geese!  Definitely don't allow your little ones to do so!