Goose stepping on our lunch break

Image via Wikipedia

Working on a suburban corporate campus meant that there was no excuse that could get me out of walking a couple of miles at lunch time. We called the campus Camp Riverwoods for its park-like setting. The building looked like something from Washington DC, fitting for a financial services giant. The grounds had two ponds protected by beautiful white mute swans. There purpose, besides looking regal, was to protect the water from being over crowded by Canada geese.

There were nine of us that decided to go for a walk one fine summer day. We met in the cafeteria and ate first. The cafeteria was stunning with a wall of windows that looked out on one of the ponds surrounded by narrow walkways that led to glass doors, from which we made our exit.

We walked out one of the doors and filed individually down the path, which skimmed past the back pond, ran through the woods, past the baseball diamond, along the volley ball net, and back to the same pond in the back. It was early summer and the hatchlings were all over the place. The signets were in the pond with their overly protective swan parents. The goslings were hopping in the grass under the careful gaze of their equally protective parents.

Nine talking women got into single file to walk back into the cafeteria in full view of all in within the wall of windows. I was the third person in the line up as we continued our conversation and squeezed on the narrow path with the pond on our left and the wall of the building on our right. We walked slowly toward the glass wall and waved to our friends in the cafeteria who seemed to be waving to us.

Continuing to talk, I heard a faint sound behind me. Then laughter. Then again. It was kind of a yelp, followed by laughter. Or maybe it was the other way around. Then I felt a hand slap me on the back. I turned to see a wide-eyed co-walker yelping at me. I laughed. Then I looked down the line to see six scared faces behind me followed by a HUGE goose jumping and flapping its wings to make it as large as possible while apparently pecking at the women behind me and working its way to my head. I slapped the back of the woman in front of her and managed to get out a "yelp" before she turned to laugh at me...

By the time we ran into the building, we had the attention of all 1,000 or so people hysterically laughing at our misfortune. We had no idea that we'd be the entertainment for the day.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]">