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Reflections on the Messy Complexity of Chronicity

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You are here: Home / Body / A Flamboyance of Flamingos

A Flamboyance of Flamingos

Evelyn Herwitz · July 16, 2019 · 6 Comments

This one is just silly. Because we all need some silliness these days.

I’ve been watching the birds at our feeder, a favorite meditation. The feeder looks like a globe cage (to keep out the squirrels) hanging from a pole attached to a maple in our backyard. We hadn’t filled the feeder in some time, because chipmunks had figured out how to climb the pole, slip into the feeder, and steal all the food. So far, they haven’t rediscovered it, although at least one squirrel has now learned how to climb the pole, jump onto the feeder, and swing it wildly so food dumps on the ground. Clever critters.

But back to the birds. Sparrows have taken over the feeder. They travel in gangs, which reminded me of all the wonderful words for groups of animals. There are the familiar terms—a pride of lions, a school of fish—but bird flock terminology is the best.

Take, for example, a quarrel of sparrows. So appropriate, considering how much they chatter and cheap.

Here are some other favorites:

  • a parliament of owls
  • a peep of chickens
  • a charm of hummingbirds
  • an asylum of loons
  • a palette of painted buntings
  • a Vatican of cardinals
  • and, best of all, a flamboyance of flamingos

Which got me to thinking . . . what if we had similar descriptors for professions, such as:

  • a vault of bankers
  • a drill of dentists
  • a hose of firefighters
  • a pontification of politicians
  • a diagnosis of doctors

Which then led me to specialists . . .

  • a pulse of cardiologists
  • a rash of dermatologists
  • a pod of orthopedists
  • an inflammation of rheumatologists
  • a stream of nephrologists

Which brings me to all of us who deal with specialists all the time. How about this?

  • a persistence of patients

Happy July.

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

Image: v2osk

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Filed Under: Body, Hearing, Mind, Sight Tagged With: body-mind balance, resilience

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy says

    July 16, 2019 at 9:31 am

    This is awesome! So clever! ?

    Reply
    • Evelyn Herwitz says

      July 16, 2019 at 10:22 am

      Thanks! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Shoshanah says

    July 16, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    I laughed out loud more than once and smiled all the way through. Thanks

    Reply
    • Evelyn Herwitz says

      July 22, 2019 at 3:49 pm

      Glad it brightened your day!

      Reply
  3. Patricia Bizzell says

    July 16, 2019 at 3:08 pm

    Especially like the stream of nephrologists. 😉
    I was struck by your reference to your sparrows–I have been calling the ones that visit our feeders “The Sparrow Gang” for years!

    Reply
    • Evelyn Herwitz says

      July 22, 2019 at 3:49 pm

      That line was one of my favorites! 🙂

      Reply

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About the Writer

When not writing about living fully with chronic health challenges, Evelyn Herwitz helps her marketing clients tell great stories about their good works. She would love to win a MacArthur grant and write fiction all day. Read More…

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I am not a doctor . . .

. . . and don’t play one on TV. While I strive for accuracy based on my 40-plus years of living with scleroderma, none of what I write should be taken as medical advice for your specific condition.

Scleroderma manifests uniquely in each individual. Please seek expert medical care. You’ll find websites with links to medical professionals in Resources.

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