LONGVIEW, TEXAS — All I was told was that Abu, Aduma, and I were to meet at Shroud’s apartment for a home-cooked meal. Bev was making us supper. In fact, it was all a conspiracy to surprise me with a visit from our good friend Baggins — a former LETU student now living in Maine. I was thrilled to see him (though bringing along a few puffins might have been thoughtful).

Everyone took great pleasure in regaling me with the details of the plot. Even the home-cooked meal was a lie; we were going out for Mexican. On our way out the door, I mentioned the House Finches. Shroud grabbed a dining room chair and told Baggins to climb up and look in the flower pot.

This, apparently, was too much for the young birds. They exploded out of the nest and flew all the way across the street into the yard of the neighboring apartment.

Baggins was shocked and embarrassed, and Shroud and I both felt a little guilty — Shroud for providing the chair and I for not urging greater caution. The little birds were strong fliers, however, and their behavior indicated that their sudden fledging wasn’t excessively premature. They were clumsy, but they seemed to have the strength to fly up into the trees, and I concluded that they would probably be fine.

It was a strange end to a strange tale. Oh, and the Mexican dinner was delicious.

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