I never lived on a farm, so this image must have come from a childhood picture book that taught me: The farmer doesn't need an alarm clock - he has a rooster!
I remembered that proud rooster today as I was enjoying a cup of coffee in the quiet of a pre-dawn morning - with all the windows open to let a fresh breeze in.
Suddenly, from a pine tree in our back yard, one crow began to caw. Not satisfied that he was waking our family, he proceeded to fly down the street, cawing loudly as he went.
There he is - our urban "rooster"! Waking up the neighborhood before most people want to get up!
Why does he do it? I wondered.
Has the council of crows appointed him to wake the others up? Perhaps he hates the dark - as I did as a child. Or maybe, like me, he can't sleep - so he's enthusiastically cheering the fact that day is here...
If I were soundly sleeping, I would have groaned, angry that he has robbed me of my last hour of sleep. But I'm already wide awake, so I sit here wondering why - after waking everyone up - he perversely disappears and all is quiet again.
He's gone. I wonder how many neighbors are now awake!
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