Page 6 - OCT2025

Page 6
Community
By William nieman
Harold spent the summer with me. Like some of my other friends in this condo neighbor- hood, he has traveled South. I will miss Harold. This story may be my attempt to attenuate the loneliness I am feeling in his ab- sence... but perhaps it is more than that.
Harold is very special. He has a huge heart. He doesn’t engage in political argument. As a matter of fact, he never raises his voice. Mostly, he hums (not hmmmm but really hums). I am fascinated by his heart, especially because mine has a rhythm that is not as sure as it used to be. When ac- tive, Harold’s heart beats at one thousand two hundred and sixty times a minute. It is the fastest heartbeat in all of the earth’s nat- ural world! He needs this special heart because at times he is ex- tremely active. I have watched his acrobatic antics from my kitchen window. Yes, Harold is a hummingbird. I gave him his name because I like alliteration.
Harold’s trip South is a long one, over three thousand miles. His large pectoral muscles will move his wings to fifty beats per second. With this rapid wing
NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM
October 2025
Harold
beat, he can sometimes cover 500 miles per day. It is a famil- iar journey over the only two continents inhabited by hum- mingbirds. When European ex- plorers first came to this “new world” they were surprised by the sight of Harold’s ancestors. They were stunned by the tiny birds’ coloration and called them “flying jewels”. When I have seen Harold in the morning sun, his iridescence is that of a precious
gem, and his interaction with the sun to create such a rainbow of colors is mysteriously unique.
Unlike other animals, hum- mingbirds are not pigmented. Harold’s tiny body has the ability to interact with sunlight to reflect and refract the sun’s rays as the daylight progresses. Thus, as the sun moves, Harold exhibits an ever-changing iridescent rain- bow of beautiful colors. By night, Harold rests in a subdued coat of
black, greys, and white.
Harold will sleep deeply
during the nights on his trip South. As he sleeps, his body’s metabolism will drop by 95 per- cent, and his heart rate will slow to 50 beats per minute. Orni- thologists call this state “torpor.” Mystics suggest it is “getting close to God.”
In some respects, Harold has brought me “closer to God,” or more specifically, to an ongoing contemplation about the possibil- ity of divine creation. While awe- struck by Harold’s antics and the amazing things I learned about his anatomy, I decided to check in with artificial intelligence AI” to see if AI might have an answer to the question of whether or not there was a thoughtful creation. As I anticipated, AI was able to elaborate all the pros and cons of this question, providing me with much new knowledge about the scientific view called “abiogen- esis” and the religious perspec- tive called “intelligent design”. However, artificial intelligence could not or would not provide an answer to the essential ques- tion of which of these two per- spectives was true. So ultimately, my search for an answer turned
again to a contemplation of my time with Harold.
Time passed, and one morn- ing late this summer, before ris- ing to greet Harol,d I looked at a picture hanging on the bedroom wall and experienced a new feel- ing about its significance. It was of a bird drawn by my son, who is definitely not religious in the traditional sense. Scripted in his beautiful calligraphy were words found in Psalm 91:4, which re- flected the psalmist’s thoughts about the nature of a divine creator. “He shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings you shall take refuge”. As I looked at the picture I smiled, reflecting on irony, on the nature of coincidences, or perhaps what some people call synchronicity. I arose and went to check on Har- old, who seemed to be taking on more spiritual significance.
Harold was at his feeder. He and I had a deal. I would pro- vide him with sugar water for his amazing body’s necessary metab- olism if he gave in return. Per- haps I have had the better part of the deal for, as I think about it, Harold has given me a special “daily bread”...sustenance for my soul.
Spooky Savings!
Buy2Get1FREEinthe month of October* Financing Available
FREE CONSULTATION
Blinds Shades Shutters
Drapes Motorized Roman Shades
Call 603-369-6597 today to schedule your FREE in-home consultation *Some exceptions apply. Terms and Conditions apply. Ask your designer for details