So I’d like to think I’m a good person, that when faced with adversity I will step up and do my duty as a decent, empathetic, caring human being, sort of.
So yesterday, fairly pleasant morning for May in the UK this year. I was sat in my Dad’s living room, yes I am 24 and still living at “home” (sigh). The living room has glass patio doors which look out into the garden, we haven’t lived here long, but senior citizens lived here prior to us (look at me being all politically correct), so the gardens pretty nice to look at, thank you dearest old folk. Where was I? Yes so sat on the sofa peering out with my warm beverage of hot milk in hand, lol I’m not helping the “I’m an adult” claim. The wind blows, the plants wobble about, but one plant is moving around a bit more than the rest. Oooh creature! I love animals from a distance, well I’m scared shitless of anything that moves beyond my anticipation, but its behind a screen so I’ll embrace the live nature documentary.
A small, grey thing which seems to be rolling around in the same spot in the bed of plants. Look a little closer, its grey bird flapping about. Charlie’s good deed of the day? Well if stating the obvious is a good deed, hell yea!
“There’s a bird flapping about in the plants” my dad and one of my little brothers go out to look and it doesn’t move so they assume its dead. Maybe in the attempt to make me look insane the bird only moved when I was looking at it. So as any caring person I think its hurt I should help it, use my initiative, get some plastic bags for makeshift gloves and make my 12 year old brother go pick it up. It doesn’t want to be picked up so it goes a bit wild and ends up stuck in some sticky plants. RSPCA are rather blasé, I thought this was meant to be the emergency services for animals! Wouldn’t leave a human with a broken arm to just lie there, actually sounds about right for A & E. Got my Dad on the other hand wanting to euthanize little tweeter, so I do what I do best and keep watch. Now in my head I felt like I’m doing something of benefit for this bird, it is stuck in some sticky plants with a broken wing, but fear not Charlie is going to save you with her stare. Sounds rather sadistic now, but I didn’t want to stress it out (It would just freak me out if it moved when I touched it) and didn’t want Dad to end its existence, so lets call it standing guard. So I sit squatted on the floor for a good half an hour, waiting for the RSPCA to get back to me, with a pair of nail scissors in hand trying to snip it free from the clutches of the evil plant, even though the bird can’t fly, clever Charlie.
My Dad gets pissed off with me hovering around, in about 5 seconds comes out with a shoe box, puts the bird in and hands me the box. I so could of done that.
The point of this story? It just made me question can you be a genuinely empathetic and caring human being if you are a complete and utter pussy. Yes you may have good intentions, but if it doesn’t reach beyond a thought process how is it of benefit for anyone or anything for that matter. Fear, stupid fears, like it would be understandable if there was a threat. How would I react if it was a person? Mind power them to safety? If you don’t actually DO anything to help, does it really matter if you feel sorry for it?
Simplie Charlie 
He said, she said