"Look! A Buzzard!"

The buzzard often sends shivers up people's spines because it signals that "death is the air." In reality, death is on the ground and these raptors are nature's garbage disposals. When I was riding around at the farm with Dad, on occasion I could see buzzards circling in the sky, waiting for their moment to swoop down and gobble up a carcass. The whole spectacle fascinated me. How could these birds zero in on death from such a great distance? Was it their eyesight? Was it their sense of smell?

In high school, the buzzard played a different role. This loathed bird provided a perfect ruse in French class. "Mrs. Baxter, look! A buzzard!" This exclamation was made all the more certain by employing appropriate hand gestures and facial contortions. There would be this frantic pointing towards the window and up to the sky. There would also be a heightened intensity of the voice. Inevitably, Zona would fall for the ruse, looking intently out the window for the circling buzzard. While the ruse was in play, answers to the tests were circulated throughout the room. When scores came in, it made the difference between a C and a B - B for Buzzard, that is.