Sleepless in a Tree

Sparrow (with urgency):  Knock. Knock. Owl...

Sparrow (with urgency again):  Knock. Knock. Owl...

Sparrow (and again): Knock. Knock. Owl...

Owl (irritable at being woken up): ....what now?

Sparrow: This business about humans tweeting...

Owl (frustrated): Didn’t we just put this to bed the other day? You said you had a change of heart - Twitter and tweeting were good for us birds, after all. What now?

Sparrow: I’ve had an epiphany, Owl.

Sparrow is greeted by silence from Owl.

Sparrow: Don’t you want to hear it...

Owl (still inside his tree hollow):  I can’t wait!

Owl is greeted by silence from Sparrow in turn.

Owl: Are you still out there? Are you going to tell me, or what?

Sparrow: Not if you don’t come out of your tree hollow.

Owl: Sheesh, I’m coming. It better be earth-shaking, this epiphany of yours.

Sparrow: It is...I promise you!

Owl:(now out of the tree and on the same branch as Sparrow):Well...?

Sparrow (continuing):  I just realized in terms of upstaging us, tweeting is not the worst thing humans have done.

Owl: Yes...?

Sparrow: What about flying, Owl? What about flying? Did our forebears ever think the day would come when humans would fly like us?

Owl: Don’t you think it’s a bit late in the day to be getting your feathers in a twist about this, Sparrow?  Humans have been flying since the turn of the last century. You would need a time machine to launch Occupy 7 Hawthorn Street at Wilbur and Orville Wright’s Dayton, Ohio home.

Owl (yawning and adding): I know, maybe you can borrow Sir Bertie Bangalore Wooster Duck’s time machine.

Sparrow:  There you go again...being a relentless tease like that human Rosie.

Owl: Sorry...I couldn’t help myself. What brought this on anyway?

Sparrow: I was just thinking about the letters I wrote to Dick Costolo in connection with tweeting, when wham - the whole flying business suddenly occurred to me.  I feel compelled to write to Minoo and let her know about my flying epiphany.

Owl: You’re not doing it just to get some press, are you?

Sparrow: Why would you even think that!!!!!

Owl: Because you’re a publicity hound, Sparrow – one of these days I won’t be surprised if I see you on TMZ.

Sparrow: Sheesh, Owl, TMZ! I am an activist - a real newsmaker. TMZ is a gossip rag about Hollywood celebrities.

Owl: Speaking of flying, Sparrow, did you know that there are 2 real newsmakers in Minoo’s family – 2 Param Vir Chakra fighter pilots.

Sparrow:  Really? Who?

Owl: The famous Keelor brothers. Their names are Trevor Keelor and Denzil Keelor.

Sparrow: How do you know this?

Owl: A little birdie told me. Now if I was you, I would write a letter to Minoo, mention your epiphany, say you learned from your learned friend Owl about the Keelor brothers and ask her to do a piece on flying.  Flight is indeed one of the greatest of human inventions.

Sparrow: You have given me some food for thought. I believe you can go back to your hollow and sleep now.

Owl: I can...can I? Thank you. I was having a dream about flying to France to pick up a gift from a thirteen year old girl called Hermione, of all things, when you woke me up.

Sparrow begins to write a letter...Dear Minoo...

P.S.:  And so dear reader... the next post on my blog will be a piece on flying. My friend Cindy’s experience of helping pilot a plane as a teenager. You can look forward to that this weekend.

P.S.2:  Indeed, I am related to the famous Keelor brothers, Trevor Keelor and Denzil Keelor.  Growing up, I was very proud to say that they were my uncles. You can read about them here and here.

P.S. 3: The Param Vir Chakra is the highest award for bravery in the Indian battlefield.

P.S. 4:  Owls remind me of Padmini, an Art Director from my HTA, Madras days...she used to collect ornamental owls....had over 200 of them.

P.S. 5: As always thanks for reading and please check back for Cindy's piece this weekend. If you want to read about the protests Sparrow launched against Twitter, you can do so here, here, here, here, and here.