Seeing an old friend and greeting a peacock on my porch brighten a dark period | Opinion

It amazes me how the unexpected surprises can pop up in your life and make you smile. On Tuesday morning, I opened my front door to get the paper and there was a beautiful peacock, his royal blue feathers glistening in the bright sunshine, standing there.

Now, mind you, I live in Miami Gardens, and it is not normal to see peacocks prancing around our neighborhoods. In fact, in all the years I have lived here, this is the first time that I ever saw a peacock. So, seeing this beautiful gentleman peacock just helped to make an already beautiful, but otherwise mundane morning, more beautiful.

I spoke to the bird, “Good morning, handsome. Where did you come from?” He looked at me curiously, stood there for a while, then walked away. I followed him with my phone camera, trying to take pictures. The camera didn’t work.

I followed him anyway. He hopped the fence and landed in my neighbor’s backyard. He walked around the house, out the front gate and then back into my yard. I guessed that he must have been somebody’s pet because he wasn’t afraid of me.

By now, the peacock had waddled up on to my front porch and was looking at his reflection in my front door. I think he thought that was another peacock. When he realized (I think) it was just his reflection, he left the porch and I went inside my house to get some breadcrumbs to feed him. I thought he must be lost and hungry.

When I got back to the porch, he had wandered off again. I sat on the porch with the breadcrumbs, waiting for him to return. But he never came back. The breadcrumbs dried up and I scattered them on the ground for the other birds. I hope Mr. Peacock found his way back home and is safe.

The peacock was only in my life for a few minutes. But those few minutes gave me a bit of happiness that I badly needed. So much had happened over the past two weeks that has tried my patience and faith.

The peacock, like the butterflies fluttering around the shrubbery in my backyard, and my budding orchid plants, made me think of all the small things that God has placed in my life to make me smile. Life is often filled with quick and unexpected turns, and perplexing problems.

But God always sends something, or someone, along to make us smile and to remind us of how much He loves us and how much we have to be thankful for.

Another thing that made me smile during the past trauma-filled weeks was a visit with my friend and classmate Bernice Curry Allen. We hadn’t seen each other since the day after our graduation from Booker T. Washington Junior/Senior High School on June 10, 1956, exactly 68 years ago, on Monday. On that day, we newly graduated seniors, had met at the school to turn in our caps and gowns and to say farewell to our childhood.

Bernice moved to Detroit soon after. Now, she was in Miami to attend the funeral of a relative. For some reason, she asked a member of her family if she knew me and, just like that, we met again. What a nice reunion we had.

Bernice has aged well. She was a pretty girl and now she is a pretty woman. She wears her hair in a stylish, short cut, as do I. We complimented each other on our taste in hair styles and giggled like two schoolgirls. And while we are both members of the “cane brigade,” we both testified to the goodness of God, and how He spared us to meet once again on planet Earth.

We spent an hour, or so, catching up on our classmates, what they had accomplished, where they are now. It made her sad to learn of the death of so many of our classmates, but like me, she is thankful that we are still here, with a “reasonable portion of health,” as our parents used to say, and still in our good minds.

Then it was time to say goodbye again. Bernice had a plane to catch. We promised to stay in touch.

I left her with a smile on my face. When I looked back at her, she was smiling, too. How wonderful it was to see her. Our visit was just another one of the seemingly small blessings that make us smile, but all too often forget to tell God, “Thanks.”

I can’t explain why, after 68 years, Bernice and I got to see each other again. Back in high school, we were friendly, but we each had our own close friends. Still, I believe there is a reason, maybe not known to us right now, that the Lord saw fit for us to meet again.

For me, I believe the reason was to put a smile, instead of a frown, on my face. Seeing Bernice, like the surprise of seeing a beautiful peacock at my front door, the butterflies in my backyard and the budding orchids, brought me a bit of happiness that was sorely needed in my life.

It was also a lesson on how God uses the small things in life to give us a much-needed lift.