Buzz and the Beltway

Most parents are intentional about naming their children. Mrs. Dove gives her baby boy bird the most perfect name for him, even though she hasn't put too much thought into a name before he hatched. Buzz is a daredevil almost from birth, as he begins life totally dependent on his mom for everything. Then when his mom also becomes his teacher, he takes his first flight with nearly tragic consequences, until she races in to help.Buzz quickly takes her lessons to heart and soon soars triumphantly through the air, stopping to smell the neighbor's flowers as he grows into quite the showman. He swoops and dives with the best of the birds, entertaining his friends and gaining a flock of gazers. Together, they fly to the outskirts of Washington, DC, where a full congress of birds gathers, atop some high wires stretched across the Beltway. Then Buzz swoops away, his eye on the speeding traffic below.Before anyone could count to ten, Buzz was soaring and diving, then riding the rush of wind between the cars and trucks, bobbing and weaving and surfing along before triumphantly racing back toward his stunned friends to fly away home. If the author hadn't seen this happen with her own eyes, this story never would have been written. Read more