I delivered newspapers for nine years until about a month ago, and I carried a videocamera on my route all over this island I live on in the middle of the Puget Sound. We have several eagle families nesting on our shores which gave me the opportunity to record many minutes of eagles soaring, nesting, watching, and hunting. One morning I spotted one perched on the top of a fir about 200′ above the surface of the Sound, so I started videotaping him. Less than five minutes later I was rewarded with it gracefully swooping down off its perch and slowly gliding out across the surface of the water for well over a mile until it reached its target, reached down just under the water, plucked out its prey and returned to the shoreline slightly north of where it had begun its quest. During its return flight it picked up two pestering crows as often happens, at least here in the Pacific NW. Whether perched on a tree just sunning itself or settled on a pier piling pecking at its prey, the ubiquitous crow is usually there flitting about cawwing and generally making a nuisance trying to get the eagle to depart leaving the remains behind. The crow then takes over the fresh remains . I’ve come to see the oft repeated scene as a metaphor for the US and insert favorite current enemy here (jihadists, insurgents, al Qaehda).
Past, Present, Future 