Omen of the Scarlet Ibis

I'm still thinking about animal encounters and today want to share my tale of the scarlet ibis.

But first a bit of background material: The scarlet ibis, red as a St. Louis cardinal, is native to South America, particularly Trinidad and Tobago.

For a scarlet ibis to be seen on Fort Myers Beach is a rarity. To see him each evening at the same time flying above the back bay with a flock of white ibis, all heading to roost, creates much excitement on our small barrier island.

People stop their day in an attempt to catch sight of him. I myself had tried on several occasions to see him and had dragged my husband to the back bay more than once at 6:15. But we either weren't quite timely or the light was such that you couldn't quite make him out as the flock flew over your head.

And now let my tale begin... 

There once was a couple (whom we may as well call Kenny and Laurie) who traversed this great country with all their belongings on enough occasions that their friends and family tended to lose track of where they'd been at certain moments in history.

This couple continued to soothe their restless natures even after their children were born.

It should have come as no surprise then that their first born (whose favorite color happened to be red) would reach an age where he, too, felt compelled to leave home and seek his fortune in another land. (Let's say for the sake of argument and accuracy that this young man chose the land of St. Louis.)

His announcement of his intentions caused his parents (well, mostly his mother) a great deal of angst and worry.

One evening the father in this tale decided to take his boat into the back bay to fish. After he left, the mother in this tale stepped onto her second story deck and called her son. As she listened to him speak of his departure, she wished with all her heart for an omen to be delivered to her. Some sign that all would be well with her son.

At that very moment she looked up and to the right. She had not paid any attention to the time but there they were. The flock of white ibis were making their way towards her and, as she was high above the ground, she saw him for the first time. The scarlet ibis.

And he was as red as a St. Louis cardinal. As red as the St. Louis Cardinal shirts her son most often wore. The scarlet ibis flew past and away from her.

She became teary-eyed in her thankfulness as her son continued to talk.

Later, she heard her husband walk through the front door. She ran out to greet him and tell him what had happened. But before she could say anything, her husband cried out to her, "You'll never guess what I saw!"

He, too, had seen the scarlet ibis fly toward and then away from him, at the same moment as she. At the same moment their son spoke of his departure from them.

And so the hearts of this couple (well, mostly his mother's) were soothed. All would be well their son. 

I do understand. The problem with anything perceived to be an omen is that its inherently wrapped in a certain degree of wishful thinking. Yet, some moments come together in such a serendipitous fashion that you're left wondering...could they be anything BUT an omen. Such is life for those paying attention to such things.