Just When You Thought It Was Safe

There are some movie images that stay with you your whole life. One of those for me is the shot of all the fowl congregating on a school playground in Hitchcock's "The Birds."  One . . then three . . .then ten . . .then hundreds, sit and wait for the bell to ring so that innocent kids inside will come pouring out the door and into the range of their beaks and talons. It's been awhile, but I think I remember one kid falling and breaking her glasses while a bird takes hold of her head and starts pecking. Creepy.

That's why I stopped and took a good look this morning when I noticed a circle of birds gathered on the lawn of a house a few blocks away. I was walking the dog and saw at least a hundred birds in a clump, cooing, and pecking at the ground. I took a firmer grip on the leash because my dog loves to chase birds. I thought she would try to dart across the street to their position the minute she noticed them, but she was oblivious, busy smelling some dog smell on our side of the road.

I couldn't resist however. This was really weird. Why were there so many birds in one place? I crossed the street, staying far away enough so that they wouldn't scatter at my presence. I talked to my dog and told her we had to stay back, but she made no attempt to go over to them. That was very strange too. Then I noticed another creepy thing. There were birds sitting on the roof, lined up on the edge, just like in the movie. And there were also some on the porch, perched along the railing.

I thought about walking close enough to see if they would startle and fly away, but I decided to leave the scene undisturbed. Somebody probably dropped a loaf of bread and a dog scattered it on the lawn, or a child wanted to see if she could lure a flock in with some unexpected treat. That's probably all it was, right? Right?

It's so interesting how something so  harmless can be made to appear evil through film, editing, and music. Hollywood has even made inanimate objects, like cars, suspect. I mean don't ever name your car Christine.

When I was in school, I made a short film for my beginning filmmaking class that used the same type of story, only the evil lurking behind the seemingly benign was in the form of a therapist. (I 'll let you decide for yourself whether you think there could be a grain of truth to that one.) When I replace my ancient computer with a brand new Imac that has a DVD player, I'll post it.

In the meantime, watch out for those things you consider most harmless. Keep an eye on the family cat, cicadas, potholders, cans of tuna. You never know when they can turn on you. :)