JOY ALONG THE WAY: NO PACKING OR RESERVATIONS FOR THIS TRIP

"Hello."

"Hello. Is this the office of the Highly Feathered Airways Controller?"

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

"This is Rob Robin. My friends and I are getting ready to make our annual trip to the South. Are the airways reliable this year?"

"Robin, our airways are always reliable."

"No detours?"

"Never."

"Which would be the best flyway to choose this Fall?"

"Any one you choose."

"How about food along the way?"

"There'll always be food along the way."

"Are there any flyways devoid of cats?"

"There will always be cats along the way. Cats, like you feathered fowls are here to stay."

"But can you offer me any insurance that one way is more catless than another?"

"We offer no travel insurance of any kind."

"Whatsoever?"

"Whatsoever."

"This is my first year to migrate."

"I can tell that."

"Should I wait for wing feather to fully molt?"

"Just let them drop along the way. No one will complain."

"Should my brothers and sisters demolish the nest where we were hatched before we leave? You know, just to tidy up a bit?"

"The wind and the weather will do that, if it hasn't already."

"Should I sing along the way?"

"Not while flying. You're kind doesn't. I thought you knew that. Where were you hatched and raised?"

"In River City."

"There are a lot of River Cities."

"We're right here where the newest bridge is being built across the big river."

"Then you ought to know you don't sing while flying."

"Should I take anything along with me?"

"Such as?"

"I don't know. I'm asking you."

"Well, that's a silly question, isn't it? You don't need baggage."

"Never?"

"Never while migrating. Only when you're nest building do you carry things. Twigs and mud. Things like that. Short distances."

"Suppose we get behind another flock that is really slow moving?"

"Fly through them. Go above or below. There is no speed limit. Your sky is free as the air you breathe."

"Oh, yes. The air? Will we run into any poisonous air?"

"If you smell any, like I said before, fly over it, underneath, of go around it. You can fly faster than air pollution."

"I sort of have to leave."

"But you will be coming back again next spring, won't you? Unless, like some of your family, you choose to hang around here all winter. It's your choice."

"What would I eat?"

"Oh, there's a bug or two around all the time."

"Is there any kind of bug or worm I should be eating before I leave? You know, to strengthen my wings?"

"How long have you been flying, Rob?"

"Since early spring."

"Then you can make it."

"All the way?"

"Oh, Rob, just get up and go. No packing. No reservations. No tickets. No passport. No shots. Just go. It's just as simple as that."

REJOICE!

Jean Bell Mosley is an author and longtime resident of Cape Girardeau.