Today I was privileged to witness the end of a life.
I had been feeling like there was something a little bit different about the day ever since I woke up. The urge to log on to the internet first thing and follow the descent of the stock market had lost its appeal. My interest in the world had waned this morning. Plus I was out of the office most of the day. I had a number of morning appointments with clients and then had to drive to a job we’re doing out of town about 20 miles south.
On my way back home I decided to stop by REI which was right off the highway and return some things I had purchased last week. As I was driving there a state trooper flew past me with lights and sirens then pulled off the next exit which was the one for REI. Traffic slowed as a result.
This exit dumps out onto a rotary (roundabout if you’re European – and a mystery if you’re not from Massachusetts). I could see another local police cruiser that had pulled over to the side of the road and the two police officers were looking in the grass at the edge of some woods. At first I thought maybe a motorcycle had misjudged the turn. Then I saw him.
He was lying like a dog would with his paws in front of him, and his body slightly curled. His head was up and he was looking straight ahead. He was panting but not out of fear - just like he was a little thirsty. Today was a hot day for October.
Traffic was moving slowly as people tried to squeeze their car past the angled cruisers. As I passed by I looked at this beautiful large coyote lying there as if everything was fine. I looked into his yellow eyes and was immediately altered by what I perceived. This was his last day and he knew it. I mean he totally understood that this was the end, that there would be no way out like so many near misses before. This is where he would stay. I don’t know how to convey what I felt as I witnessed this coyote staring back at me for a brief moment. It blew me away. He was a warrior.
I continued on my way to REI. After about 20 minutes I was back on the rotary and passed by the warrior. He was spread out and lying on his side. He was dead from a single bullet to his chest. I saw in a flash what had happened. He was hit by a car and came to rest in the tall grass, his hind legs broken. Someone called it in and the police came quickly. Coyote’s conjure fear around here. They are not welcome in suburbia. The local policemen (who was in a K-9 cruiser – I could hear the dog barking wildly as I passed the first time) un-holstered his Glock 9mm. He walked slowly to the coyote and got within five feet of him and took aim. As his finger slowly compressed against the trigger the coyote looked straight into his eyes knowing this was the final instant of a life lived free and wild.
The noise from the pistol sounded loud and foreign in this populated place. The yellow eyes never blinked. Coyote tried to take one last breath before seeing the sun and the sky and this earth for the final time. The life was ebbing out of him.
And then he was gone. Gone back to Life. Another cycle completed.
Good journey to you my brother. You died a Warriors Death.
I am honored to have been a small part of your last day.
Good journey to you my friend.
J
I had been feeling like there was something a little bit different about the day ever since I woke up. The urge to log on to the internet first thing and follow the descent of the stock market had lost its appeal. My interest in the world had waned this morning. Plus I was out of the office most of the day. I had a number of morning appointments with clients and then had to drive to a job we’re doing out of town about 20 miles south.
On my way back home I decided to stop by REI which was right off the highway and return some things I had purchased last week. As I was driving there a state trooper flew past me with lights and sirens then pulled off the next exit which was the one for REI. Traffic slowed as a result.
This exit dumps out onto a rotary (roundabout if you’re European – and a mystery if you’re not from Massachusetts). I could see another local police cruiser that had pulled over to the side of the road and the two police officers were looking in the grass at the edge of some woods. At first I thought maybe a motorcycle had misjudged the turn. Then I saw him.
He was lying like a dog would with his paws in front of him, and his body slightly curled. His head was up and he was looking straight ahead. He was panting but not out of fear - just like he was a little thirsty. Today was a hot day for October.
Traffic was moving slowly as people tried to squeeze their car past the angled cruisers. As I passed by I looked at this beautiful large coyote lying there as if everything was fine. I looked into his yellow eyes and was immediately altered by what I perceived. This was his last day and he knew it. I mean he totally understood that this was the end, that there would be no way out like so many near misses before. This is where he would stay. I don’t know how to convey what I felt as I witnessed this coyote staring back at me for a brief moment. It blew me away. He was a warrior.
I continued on my way to REI. After about 20 minutes I was back on the rotary and passed by the warrior. He was spread out and lying on his side. He was dead from a single bullet to his chest. I saw in a flash what had happened. He was hit by a car and came to rest in the tall grass, his hind legs broken. Someone called it in and the police came quickly. Coyote’s conjure fear around here. They are not welcome in suburbia. The local policemen (who was in a K-9 cruiser – I could hear the dog barking wildly as I passed the first time) un-holstered his Glock 9mm. He walked slowly to the coyote and got within five feet of him and took aim. As his finger slowly compressed against the trigger the coyote looked straight into his eyes knowing this was the final instant of a life lived free and wild.
The noise from the pistol sounded loud and foreign in this populated place. The yellow eyes never blinked. Coyote tried to take one last breath before seeing the sun and the sky and this earth for the final time. The life was ebbing out of him.
And then he was gone. Gone back to Life. Another cycle completed.
Good journey to you my brother. You died a Warriors Death.
I am honored to have been a small part of your last day.
Good journey to you my friend.
J
Comments