Flocks

 

From a distance, I saw people flocking together by the pond. The ducks and geese must be back at the pond to give their babies their first swimming lesson. If not, these people are at the pond using it as their cooling system on a hot summer day.

That’s what I thought.

At a closer look, they were all glued to their iPhones, and no one is talking. And I broke their silence.

“Hey, dude, what’s up?”
“Pokemon!”
“Poke Man, who?”
“Pokemon, the game.”
“Why are you guys all hanging out here?”
“We have to catch this character that appears only close to the water.”
“Okeydokey, whatev!”

While they played their game, I enjoyed watching a dozen ducklings. The geese were on the other pond. It’s always a welcoming sight to see nature in our concrete jungle. These birds habitually come back every year even though Deer Lake and Central Park have ponds for them.

As the day progressed in the heat, the crowd grew bigger. It went into the wee hours of the night. The group moved closer to the building in the background. This time, they were making a ruckus. Pokemon Party.

My Russian girlfriend lives in that building. From the seventh floor, she could hear them. Needing her sleep, she shouted from the balcony to move.  But they won’t budge. The crowd did not listen. Mistake. She can no longer contain her calm, and the next thing happened buckets of cold water went pouring down the flock.

Keep Cool. Stay Cool. Remain Cool.