Costco Birdsongs: Who and What Deserves Protection?

Plus, a call to action

This weekend there’s an important movement occurring throughout the United States. Please consider participating, and find information at the end of this short essay.

Three weeks left of spring semester.

This semester has been an uphill climb, every third step shifting underfoot. Stones halving. Flesh squeezed. I pulled myself up and here I am, so close to the top of this particular mountain.

For the past five days I slept alone in someone else’s bed, waking each morning to feed and walk their three dogs, driving home each afternoon to check on my cat before or after teaching, then back to the dogs. A wad of much-needed cash my reward, plus a giant television. Movies and shows without commercials. Pure luxury, but nothing’s as good as my own bed, really.

Tuesdays are non-teaching days. Grading days. Catching up on email days. Planning days. Writing days. Today I took an exact amount of cash to Costco, where I do most of my grocery shopping. The regular stores are too expensive, especia…