The Magic Minute

 By Harriet May Savitz

14^th Happening   

Sidney Seagull waited for the fishing boats to dock.  He knew their schedule.  Every day the fishing boats pulled out into the Bay at 7:30 in the morning.  If they were half-day boats, they would return at 12:30.  If they were a full day boat, they would return at 5:30 p.m.

Sidney arranged his day according to the schedule of the boats.  He made certain he was there as the boats arrived at the dock.   There were all kinds of fish and garbage thrown overboard that he found to his liking and would retrieve with his strong hooked bill.  Sometimes he followed the boats into land.  Sometimes he would just sit on a pole at the pier so he could get a clear view.

He was sitting on the pole when THE ONE spoke to him.

“Sidney, do you think you could bring me some GOOD NEWS about the TENANTS?  You are always following them around.   I need you to bring back some GOOD NEWS about them.”

“I think that could be arranged,” said Sidney Seagull.  He had plenty of spare time when he wasn’t doing his job as scavenger of the sea.  But even if he didn’t, he knew better than to turn down THE ONE.

Everyone was in a turmoil back on the beach.  The MOLLUSKS had returned from DEEP THINKING.  “We don’t want to go to war,” they said.  “HIGHER UP would not like it.”

“Well, we want to go to WAR,” shouted the FISH.  “LOWER DOWN will like it.”

“I represent THE ONE,” announced the Golden Eagle.  But nobody was listening.

A Seagull flew from the sky.

“I bring you GOOD NEWS,” said Sidney Seagull as he landed on the beach.  “I looked inside a House of Worship today.  TENANTS were praying.  Every House of Worship was full.  Every prayer was different.  Every day TENANTS pray somewhere in the world.”

He waited for someone to thank him for his hard work.  But nobody did. Instead the MOLLUSKS and the FISH were in heated disagreement regarding the TENANTS and what to do about them.

“This has thrown off my whole schedule,” complained Sidney Seagull.  “I’ve missed at least two fishing boats coming in.  I’ve got to get back before I miss any more.”  His gray white body took off into the sky.

The Golden Eagle listened.  Surely there would be another message from THE ONE telling him what to do now.  But nothing came.  Defeat washed over the Golden Eagle.  His reputation would be ruined forever if he failed in this assignment.  He had always been respected by the BIRDS, but now they must be laughing at him, while he stood guarding a pack of MOLLUSKS and FISH, certainly a job beneath the King of Birds.

More GOOD NEWS arrived.  The Blackbird, the Cardinal, the Catbird, and many more BIRDS deposited their GOOD NEWS on the beach.

“It’s no use,” the Golden Eagle moaned.  “They’re not listening.  They’ll never listen.  I can’t keep them here forever.”

“You certainly cannot,” stated the Shark.

“We’re on our way to WAR,” the Moray Eel insisted.

“Beware of our weapons,” threatened the Sting Ray.

“We have everything we need to go to WAR,” shouted the Armored Catfish.

“We want you to join us,” the Common Puffer told the MOLLUSKS.  “Become part of our Underwater Army.”

But the MOLLUSKS responded in one voice.

“Understanding.”

“Compassion.”

“Love.”

“Kindness.”

“Forgiveness.”

“Peace.”

And then it grew strangely quiet  It seemed everyone was waiting..  For word from HIGHER UP.  For orders from LOWER DOWN.  For advice from THE ONE.

“Having a Magic Minute is not all it might seem to be,” said the old Sea Turtle. 

“We have the same problems after DEEP THINKING that we had before,” said the MOLLUSKS.

“We want WAR!” the FISH insisted.

“I have been given an impossible mission,” said the Golden Eagle.  “What good is a Magic Minute if nothing is accomplished?”

*   *   *