CROW TALK

 

   Something amusing happened this morning at the Allotments.

  As I reached the water butt, I noticed a large black Rook sitting on a shed roof. I started to make a clicking noise with my tongue and on the third click, the Rook answered with a guttural croak-like caw noise; twice, and sat there unconcerned before he flew away.

I smiled; it was then I noticed that I wasn’t alone; a lady on one of the neighbouring plots had witnessed the whole thing. “Good Morning!” she exclaimed.

“Good Morning!” I replied.

God knows what she thought of a crazy gardener communicating with wild birds?

TIME TRAVEL

This article was written for “QUINTET,” our Parish magazine, requesting submissions on the theme of ~ Time Travel

by John Yeo

A mysterious man entered the marketplace in the town of Northchester carrying an ornate, richly decorated chest.

“Gather round folks I would like to reveal an instrument that could transport your innermost soul to places you could never dream of. I bring an instrument that is capable of changing your life forever.”

Then with a flourish, he pulled off the lid to reveal the contents of the box:
An ordinary antique black plastic telephone. A scratched, battered, extremely well used, old-fashioned telephone.
The telephone suddenly rang!

The mystery man said. “This proves this is not just any old telephone, this is a special telephone.
A line to the timeline of history revealing the twists and turns of the life of the planet since time began.
To travel through the timeline one just needs to dial the year one wants to visit. No kidding! Past, Present or hopefully the Future.”

The worrying thing was when you dialed the future there was no response.

“Why was this?” You questioned the powers in authority.

Mr. Optimist replied. “There is no reply as the future hasn’t happened yet.”

Mr. Pessimist said. “There is no reply because there is no future. A bomb has wiped out the entire planet. There is no future!”

There was a third person present. An old man who shrugged and said. “Hang up the phone; it is written.”

The wise old sage in the company then addressed the mysterious stranger.

“Sir! Excuse me, please. I don’t think there could ever be such a thing as physical time-travel.
The end result would never be the same. People would surely travel backward and forwards in time to undo or change an unfortunate action or to rectify a mistake. Surely one person’s mistake is another person’s gain.
Some of us may not actually exist. How many times have people admitted their child sadly was the product of an unfortunate mistake?
The past surely should be left in the past. The future is surely best left in the hands of God.”

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved