Tale of two Ducks. January 1976: Gainesville, FL

At our farm we had two steady visitors--both ducks. One was a wild bird who visited every day to help our barnyard birds with their eating chores. The duck, chickens, a rooster, guinea hens, and a turkey were responsible for cleaning up the food we scattered around for them. They seemed to have learned the secret for peaceful coexistence. Except for one instance when the bantam rooster felt an urge to become a fighting cock, it was peaceful and not too noisy. Duck hung around all day and availed himself of the puddles and shade that were created around our outdoor shower. In hot weather, showers were in use constantly. So the duck had lots of company splashing in refreshing water. Since a steady stream of humans headed for a shower, he never had to learn to turn it on.
At the end of day, duck established a ritual that we partook in . As sun was setting, he would perch on top of the shower structure and watch light disappear. There was usually a compliment of humans making a like ceremony. As the last sunlight was gone, duck would launch into flight. He was a hefty bird and seemed almost like a plane taking off, making loud swishing sounds with his wings as he ascended. He flew the length of our field before veering off to the left and disappearing much like the sun had. If you arose early, you would catch him coming back just before sun returned the next morning. Apparently he had a steady piece of work and took it seriously.
Our other duck was of the human variety. It was not his given name, but one he assumed. He never told why he choose that label, but we accepted him. He dropped by regularly to help in our garden. He seemed quite knowledgeable about local growing environment and taught us much about achieving optimal growing conditions. Duck was a young black man whose family lived on a nearby farm. I visited with him there and his family also went along with his choice of name. I never learned his given name. But I could see where he got his green thumb. His family had a thriving farm that produced enough for their needs and a bounty for trade and sharing. On my way out, his mother loaded me down with a bag of fresh produce and several pounds of fresh bacon.
Duck had a unwavering mission about resisting any call to become a licensed member of society. He refused to accept anything that required him to register for and receive a government issued ID. His family supported that notion and had not even gotten him a Social Security Number as a youngster. In fact they may have all been unregistered. The price he had to pay was several arrests for driving without a license. He was well known in the local court and would cheerfully do his time. It was only when his sentence approached six months at a time, did he figure that if he was not going to be a licensed member of this society then perhaps he should also not be a driving member either. While one duck was taking to flying, this Duck was taking to walking and hitching. I never checked if our other duck had an ID or flying license.

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