'Geese Police' with a spotlight on Turtle Pond very early (darkness) Thursday morning. The Sun was just about an hour away from rising; coupled with the cloudy, foggy morning Turtle Pond was still quite dark. Out of the darkness I heard a sudden panic on the water coming from the east end of the pond. I looked over and the entire area was lit up suddenly with a very powerful spotlight. It was the ‘Geese Police’ harassing the sleeping ducks. I wonder what it was like for those humble animals asleep under the stars having already to contend with so many hazards of the natural world, but now compounded by the selfish actions of a single species attempting to dominate a beautiful planet which evolved for all. If something like that happened to any of us we’ll instantly dial ‘911’ and depend on getting justice for such a transgression on our peaceful lives. Sadly the tormented ducks have no one to call and no immediate justice to look forward to. They may not feel that any injustice was done to them though, and they most likely will learn to cope with all the evil of our self-centered behavior. The ‘Geese Police’ van drove slowly toward me shortly after and I stood in the light of a streetlight to address the driver. The harsh glow from the lamp fell on the portly face of the sole human occupant, his cold blue eyes smiled at me likely expecting a congenial greeting. Cuddled peacefully next to him in the passenger seat was an adorable border collie--an animal tool. The sweet little dog was a living machine conditioned to carry out a job for the sole benefit of his guardian. For a morsel of food and the security of shelter he was brain-washed to betray his fellow animals. I asked the driver of the dreadful vehicle with a liver-colored canoe strapped to its roof why he was tormenting the ducks on the pond. I knew that he was looking for Canada geese and did not intend to disturb the other waterfowl; “How do you chase away Canada geese without interfering with the mallards and wood ducks and other innocent animals?” I asked him calmly suppressing the anger and more so the sadness inside me. “I was just looking for geese...I wasn’t disturbing the other ducks...” he replied. I felt it so pointless to continue the interview but the sounds of the panicked animals on the pond were still ringing in my head. I told him that I am fully aware that he was just doing his job and that the heartlessness of his actions were really from the Central Park Conservancy and not him. He agreed and took shelter in this acknowledgement. “But tell me one thing though,” I pressed, “Here for example is a flock of Canada geese and close by are a bunch of mallards and right next to them are some wood ducks and other herons etc...” I painted the scenario on the road in front of his van. “How does your dog distinguish between the Canada geese and the rest of the waterfowl?” I continued knowing that I was speaking to an, for want of a better word, innocent worker who was merely performing a paid job with the best intentions. I wagged my tongue some more and the Geese Police wagged his tongue and it occurred to me that not even the Central Park Conservancy was to be blamed for this. The heartlessness really came from visitors like you and me who will put up with this. It is you and I that demand pristine lawns and pretty fountains with sterile landscapes. The Conservancy is just the provider, but it is us that instigate the cruelty. Just like it’s hardly the drivers and owners of the Carriage Horses to be blamed for the miserable lives of those animals as much as it’s the jolly mindless people that hop on for a ride. It’s getting colder daily; in the air, and in the hearts of my fellow man. This poor sweet innocent little dog has been brain-washed to betray his fellow animal for a treat. Very little thought went into the permitting of this vehicle to drive around Central Park all day long with this unsavory sign. What answer do you give to an innocent child when they ask their parents what does this sign mean? It is a good indication of the mentality of the Central Park Conservancy and the NYC Parks & Recreation Department when they see nothing wrong with this. Maybe I am wrong about all of this. Maybe Nature should exterminate these geese along with rats and moles and raccoons and sparrows and starlings and red-tailed hawks which deface handsome buildings. But then again maybe I'm right and maybe instead of chasing them away we should worship their lives and take pattern in the way they take care of their spouses and their young. Maybe we should admire how they live in tune with their environment and scorn at how we treat our own. Rogers and Hammerstein never wrote the lyrics “Doug Blonsky that fly with the Moon on his wings...” Such a thing will never be anyone’s ‘favorite things’. The image of Wild Geese will forever inspire beautiful hearts and minds all over the Universe. Pristine lawns and sterile ponds only serve to delight comatose minds. Natural grass laden with weeds and wild flowers whose tops have visiting bees and busy little bugs are all there to stimulate healthy minds--there goes a sparrow eating some seeds and here comes a caterpillar working its way up a lean stalk. There is a ladybug climbing over a crystal dewdrop hanging onto the tip of a velvety leaf--what a stage for healthy minds young or old. Even a blind person can sit of a field of natural grass and run their hand across its uneven tops and feel the variety of textures of leaves and twigs and rocks but hopefully not an anthill. Ponds with little tadpoles and fishes and ducks asleep and yes, geese and grasshoppers and water-rats, mice, fuzzy-faced squirrels water’s edge bound to quench their thirst and marveling as they drink at frogs and other creatures that crawl and fly and swim and generally get on with their wholesome lives of which none of us are in a position to take or give or tamper or control. And when a robin sings we learn to listen to her song and enjoy it as it comes out naturally and never to comment that she should sing it some other way that pleases you more.