I was the one
Different for the rest
The odd ball
Never passing the popular test.
But, a voice said one day,
"Usually
Unusual is not Usual"
Did you hear it?
Was you?
Was it me?
Or was it our destiny?
Pensacola Helene
 |
| Hi My name is Bobby |
Bobby the Bad Eagle and Pete the Peregrine
Falcon grew up together in a bird village in North America. Bobby and Pete were
close friends. Bobby didn't like being different from the rest of his
classmates and he always felt like the odd ball out. There were a few other
eagle families there too, but they seem to fit in just fine with the Falcons.
Eagles and Falcons talked about their common hunting skills, the 100% no
divorce rate among them, as well as the similar talons, and beaks.
Unfortunately, Bobby focused only on how he was different. Maybe that was because
his classmates always teased him about his long wings, or how he sometimes flew
too high during a game, or how much slower he was than everyone else when it
came to flying. Even though the Falcons were about 10 pounds lighter with a 40
inch wingspan; they were the fastest birds in the world. Pete always encouraged
Bobby and told him he had the most unusual traits of them all. Pete promised him constantly that one day his
differences would become his destiny.
Forget a destiny, Bobby would
often think to himself. He didn't want to have unusual traits; he just wanted
to fit in. Though he was an eagle, he was allowed on the Falcon football team
because he had good eyesight and could see the game plays a mile away.
 |
| Endurance |
One day, in his last year of
high, school; the football team flew away to a nearby training camp. Of course
on the way the Falcons took off leaving Bobby in the dust. When he arrived, he
discovered the Falcons hadn't made it yet. They were surprised to find Bobby
there before them and wondered how that had happened. Bobby discovered that
even though the Falcons had speed they didn't have endurance and he could fly
longer distances without stopping.
 |
| Soaring above the Storm |
There were many discoveries for
Bobby that year. A big storm hit their village and Bobby was able to fly to a
high place and soar peacefully above the storm. His huge wings allowed the winds
to lift him high until it was over. He didn't see any of his Falcon friends
because they didn't posses the ability to soar like Bobby.
Another event left him
speechless. He and the rest of the Football team were going through molting
season. The Falcons lost all their feathers and could no longer fly. But Bobby
lost his feathers in a rotational way which allowed him to continue to fly at
all times.
At graduation Bobby had about
7000 feathers and he looked awesome. School officials said Bobby's feathers
weighed about one pound and his wingspan was about 8 or 9 feet long. His
teammates had a new respect for his unusual differences. So did Bobby. Humans
used Bobby's picture as a symbol of the United States. Bobby taught his fellow
birds and humans that fast is not always better, if you have no endurance; that
fitting in won't help, during the times, you need to soar above a stormy
circumstance, and that having a different built or make-up, or look, or shape may
be the very reason you will be able to fly when everyone else is grounded.
Bobby, the Bald Eagle still models and teaches these principles to this very
day.
What if being different is not so
bad after all? Most people think if you don't fit the mold something is wrong,
but maybe that's not true. Maybe your destiny is tied up with you being
different and being the oddball in your family, your community, and among your
peers. A man once said, he knew someone who gave his whole life for "a [group
of] peculiar people." Maybe you are a member of that group and you were
not designed to be "normal" or to "fit in" or "be like
everyone else." Bobby, the Bad Eagle, wasn't disrespectful or unlawful or
a bad person. He was just different.
So listen one more time to the
voice that said, "Usually Unusual is not Usual..." Did you hear it?
Is it YOU? Is it ME? Is it your DESTINY?
