Moral Soup part 2

A fable

Feathers 72”X72” oil on canvas.

Blue Jay and TomCat

Blue Jay sat on a live oak limb. Making a ruckus. Squawking and chattering. Pecking at its left wing.

TomCat on the ground. Just below. Watched the bird and bobbed his head side to side. “What’s the matter, Mr. Jay?” Purr gurgled in his throat.

“My wing. My left wing. It hurts bad.” Blue Jay leaned over to see the feline. “I can’t stand it.”

“Can’t stand it?” TomCat licked the back of his paw. Smoothed down his top-knot. “What do you think is wrong?”

Blue Jay tried to lift his wing. “I flew too hard outrunning a hawk. Think I sprained it.” Squawk. “It hurts.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor.” TomCat raised his eyebrows. “My owner takes me to a vet. He always cures what ails me.”

Blue Jay stopped his chatter. “Owner?” Tilted his head to the side. “I don’t have an owner. I’m wild.” Ruffled his feathers. “The vet would make me pay. I haven’t a cent to my name.”

“Wild?” TomCat sat back. “No money?” Flicked his tail. “How do you survive? What do you eat? Where do you stay at night?”

Blue Jay leaned over the oak limb. “I eat caterpillars and worms. Wild thistle seeds. Berries and such.” Preened his wing with his beak. “I sleep out in the trees. Sometimes in a nest. Wherever I want.”

“Horrors.” TomCat rolled his head away from the bird. “I can’t imagine such a vulgar life. I sleep curled up at my owner’s feet. On satin. It’s quite delightful.” Eyed the jay. “Twice a day he dips a sterling silver spoon into a well-appointed tin. Stirs it up just right for my enjoyment.” Licks his lips. “And taps the deliciousness out on a bone china saucer.” Winked. “Scrumptious.”

“Obviously, our lives are quite different.” Blue Jay winced in pain. “I must fend for myself. Now I’ll probably starve since my wing is hurt.”

TomCat got to his feet and stretched on all fours. Arched his back. Then relaxed. “Poor Mr. Jay. I wish I could help.”

Blue Jay bobbed his head away from TomCat. “Perhaps you can ask your vet what I could do. That would help me.”

TomCat admired his toes for a moment. “I’ll do just that. Give me just a moment and I’ll be right back.” TomCat walked away. Looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Now you stay right there. I’ll get you some medical advice.”

No sooner than a flicker, TomCat was back. He slinked up to just under the live oak branch that Blue Jay was perched on. “You’re in luck Mr. Jay. My doctor was not occupied with paying customers and was delighted to give me free advice.” He sat back on his haunches and looked up at the bird. “He told me how you would be good as new, or maybe even better.”

“Oh please, TomCat. Do tell me his remedy.”

“He said that your wing must be surgically removed. He told me how you can do it yourself.”

Blue Jay looked down at TomCat. “Remove my wing? How will I fly? It takes two wings to fly. I’d be grounded and food for the first animal that passed by.”

“Oh, hahahaha. You’ve been fed a lie. That is a myth they tell uneducated birds.” TomCat grinned. “The vet told me that if you remove one wing from a bird, the other wing allows the creature to fly faster, higher and wherever it wishes to go. That bad wing is holding you back. Get rid of it and you will be more successful than your pitiful imagination would allow.” TomCat held his paw to his face. Stretched out his claws and admired them. “He also told me that your beak is sharp enough that you can snip off that wing in the flutter of a heart.”

Blue Jay looked at his poor wing. “Snip off my wing?” He winced with pain. Squawk. “It’s killing me. I’ll do anything.” He poked his beak toward the cat. “And If I fall on the ground will you eat me?”

“Lord, child. Heavens no.” TomCat scoffed. “My owner feeds me the finest tinned cuisine a cat could ask for. It would be an insult to him if I even once drooled while looking at a bird.” His head made a loop. “What do you take me for?”

“OK, TomCat, I trust you. I’ll do what you say.” Blue Jay went to work on his wing. Soon it fluttered to the ground. “Squawk. Ouch. That hurt.”

The corners of TomCat’s mouth turned up to his ears. “There, there bird. But don’t you feel better?” He moved closer to just underneath the fowl. “Now why don’t you give your one-winged flight a try. That’ll make you feel even better. Fly high, fly fast.”

“OK, TomCat.” Blue Jay moved to the highest point of the live oak bough. He stood on tiptoes and flapped his right wing. Jumped.” He clattered furiously and his eyes bulged on the way down.

TomCat leaned his head back and opened his mouth wide. Blue Jay fell right in and he bit down. The feline chewed a couple of times then swallowed. Grinned. “Fool.” He wet one paw after the other. Wiped his face. Twitched his tail. Walked back to his owner’s house. Full. “Stupid bird.”

Malaga, Spain is a delightful city on the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. This Andalusian city is the gateway to the Costa del Sol, the Mediterranean playground east of the Straight of Gibraltar. Remembered as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, this ancient city has a varied past dating back to Phoenicia.

Ebenezer, Prudence and Their Calf 15”X15” oil on panel 2018

I was there a few times in late twenty-teens organizing three exhibitions. One in Mijas, one in Marchiavaya and one in Malaga. The shows featured my paintings of the Spanish Cattle of Florida, or Cracker Cows as we so fondly call them.

In the heart of the city sits Santa Iglesia Catedral Basilica de la Encarnacion. Originally a mosque during a long period of Muslim control. Late fifteenth century Malaga fell and was taken over by the Christian Kings. This was about the time that Columbus was gearing up to sail on his expedition to find a shorter route to the treasures of the far east.

Prior to the takeover by the Christian Kings southern Spain was the most advanced place in all of Europe. Science, Medicine and the Arts thrived. The multidimensional culture expanded trade and was a thriving cultural center. By 1502 The Christian rulers required everyone to convert. As this didn’t work they started imposing brutal restrictions on the Muslims and the Jews. The Spanish Inquisition and those labeled as heretics fled Spain, were tortured or burned at the stake. This is an oversimplification of one of the most tragic periods of European history. Bottom line. Spain became a treacherous theocracy.

The Inquisition lasted until 1834. Some historians believe and death toll during the inquisition was in the millions. There is no accurate historical data. The Jews and Muslims dispersed throughout northern Africa and Europe. Many people credit the Inquisition with diminishing the power of Spain. By expelling the Jews they destroyed their banking system. Dispelling the Muslims devastated the scientific community. The country was left in the hands of semi-literate Christians.

The looks on the faces of both the “man of the cloth” and the cowering Moor tell in images a story that is timeless.

Present day Spain is a delightfully charming country inhabited by loving people but it certainly is not a world-leader. One must wonder if Spain had embraced its diversity during the late fifteenth century instead of rounding up the “others” and expelling them would there be a different narrative.

Words like genocide, ethnic cleansing, deportation, extradition, banishment and evacuation raise goosebumps on historians. We see the story of the inquisition played out time-and-time-again from small scale New England hamlets where women were burned alive to mass slaughter in world capitols. We saw it in Germany during the 1930’s and in Cambodia in the seventies. It never works. Those who let it happen or turn a blind eye to madmen and demagogs become, by default, the pariah of the ages.

I offer the little fable of Blue Jay and TomCat. If we can’t learn from history, maybe a simple little story will illustrate better. Of course a bird can’t fly with one wing. It needs both. One complements the other. America is a country that is richly diverse. It was a product of the Enlightenment. A great secular experiment by men who were sick of theocratic rule. It was founded as a country that allows practice of any and every religion but dictates none. A melting pot. A dynamic land with adaptation built into its very fabric. It must have a two-party system of checks and balances or it will fall.

It is our patriotic duty to keep it that way. We cannot go backwards. If we do we will find ourselves like Blue Jay falling into the jaws of defeat.