I, too, abhor hunting of animals for sport! I cannot imagine resorting to have to kill a crane...I was just concerned with protecting my babies. I am happy to report that the birds have not bothered us again, and seem to be respecting our distance. I will remain vigilant, but hope we have averted another problem by quietly and calmly standing our ground and not reacting aggressively during their earlier challenge.
I will share that many years ago, when my 45-year-old son was in second grade he was in a school performance in NYC at Madison Square Garden. He was in a program with Jaques D'Amboise and Mary Tyler Moore, and his class had been training for an entire semester. After a day-long rehearsal, we were told to go outside to eat while they cleaned in preparation for the evening performance. I decided to take him to TGIF as a treat, and as I turned a corner adjacent to the complex, we were confronted by an obvious drug addict who grabbed my son by the throat and demanded money. Back in the day, I was much more nimble, and acted on my immediate impulse to defend my son by kicking him with huge force "you know where" with my very sharp high heel. I grabbed my son's hand and quickly walked to the corner where there was a police officer...it happened so quickly that my son had not known that he was in danger. Believe me, when confronted with harm to those you love, the Mama Bear comes out! I will admit that on the bus ride home I did have a small cry and shook a bit when the whole incident was behind me. (I will also add that after the children were older I worked in the field of domestic violence for over twenty years, and had plenty of practice confronting dangerous situations. My own instinct is to confront fear, but never escalate unless absolutely necessary.) |