If you’re like most people, the year 2020 probably has you rolling your eyes at this point, asking “good grief, what next?” Well, I’ll tell you what next: a bird of prey, flying over the beaches of Florida, carrying a 3-foot shark-like fish that it just plucked straight out of the sea. (1)
It was all caught on video and posted online by Kelly Burbage, who was in Myrtle Beach and staying on the 17th floor of a high rise building. (2) This was the perfect vantage point for capturing the amazing “Wild Kingdom-like” footage that instantly went viral.
As you might expect, opinions started coming through instantly too. The general consensus on the bird is that it is an osprey. The fish does look a lot like a shark, prompting a lot of not-too-far-off-base Sharknado jokes, but it’s not. Most people who weighed in believe the “shark” is actually a ladyfish, though some thought it could be an Atlantic Spanish Mackerel. This incredible bird of prey and both species of fish are plentiful in this region of Florida, so either answer is quite possible.
Pandemics, Politics & Birds Of Prey
Is this some kind of a sign? Has 2020 been sending us a message that we’re just not picking up on? I’m starting to wonder.
Everything was fine at the beginning. Making resolutions… breaking resolutions… the usual January fare. Then news of a new virus began to emerge. The novel coronavirus, as the name would suggest, was new to us. Novel though it was, by the time the news really hit, it could already be found almost everywhere in the world. Collectively we went into lockdown, and we learned how to bake bread. We joked about how bras are so 2019, and that we all have two sets of jammies: one for day and one for evening. There was something of a feeling of togetherness. However, that feeling wouldn’t last too long.
But first, murder hornets. Still shaking our heads in disbelief at the new reality we were living in, whoever is writing and directing 2020 decided to go ahead and throw in a plotline involving murder hornets. (3) Many of us balked at this addition to the story, calling it unnecessary given all that we had going on, but the writers and directors went ahead with it. Murder hornets it was.
Politically speaking things have gotten a bit more wacko as 2020 marches on. Even more so than we had already become accustomed to, which is saying a lot. Even the wearing of face masks has become something of a political argument in certain circles. Some people feel that wearing masks is not a matter of mitigating harm, flattening the curve, and slowing the spread of a dangerous virus. Instead it has become about something else, somehow. What could be more important than caring for ourselves and each other? It’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
But, isn’t that pretty much what 2020 has been so far? One long head-scratcher of a story, with strange plotlines that make no sense. Bizarre twists and turns that make us wonder if any of this is real, or if we’re all stuck in an HG Wells novel. Perhaps that’s why this story has created a collective gasp and laugh. It’s so ridiculous, epic and primal. A lot like this exact time we’re living in right now.
