"Yes, Aunt Amy," Vince said looking up from the bird book he was studying. "Birds are so beautiful. I am glad that God created them. And many of them are helpful too."
"Do you want to be an ornithologist when you grow up?" Amy asked Vince. This is perhaps an odd question. Must eight year olds think they want to be firemen or astronauts when they grow up, but Vince is more focused on wildlife.
Vince considered the question seriously for a few moments. "Well, Aunt Amy," he said. "I think I would rather help endangered birds. I would like to help them so that their habitat is not lost and they do not become extinct. I will never see a Passenger Pigeon and that makes me sad."
"Would you like to help birds like the Whooping Crane?" I asked, curious about this endeavor.
"No, Dad," Vince said. "I am not interested in helping the Whooping Crane. It is endangered, but I would rather help birds like the Greater Prairie Chicken, which used to live around here. The Whooping Crane does not live around here."
Amy laughed. "Well, I guess that makes sense," she said. "You should focus your resources on things you can really change."
I don't know what Vince will do when he grows up, but right now his desire is to try to restore wetlands and meadows for the birds he loves to see and study.
I am struck by his focus on the birds that he thinks he could help. Birds that live in the Midwest, rather than those in the Brazilian rain forest are reachable for him.
It is awfully easy to focus on those in need who live far away. There are starving children in Africa and people contracting mosquito borne illnesses across Central and South America and we should give liberally to try to help their needs, but we must not ignore the people in need in our own communities.
It starts with seeing needs, but it needs to go from there. To see the need is a start, but then we need to make the attempt to meet it.
Because the easiest people to impact are those we come in contact with every day, just like the easiest birds to help are those who live close to us.
Like the Greater Prairie Chicken.
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