There Will Be Ducks

It is a comforting thought that there will always be ducks in our neighborhood. Every decade of my life there have always been Mallards, though not many fancy ducks. You can rely on Mallards to be the same, not just in appearance, but in a certain duckiness, a characteristic-ness. When I was young Mallards were just the same as they are now; the ducklings have not changed either. You might think I am being ridiculously obvious, you might suppose me to be simple-minded, but at age 74 it is most comforting to know that something as lovable, quarrelsome, and irascible as a Mallard duck has not changed.