Last week there was tremendous drama here as a child was kidnapped from Kirkwood, a nearby community. Amazingly, he was found in 4 days’ time with concerned people calling the police with information. And miraculously, another child who had been missing since 2002 was also found in the kidnapper’s home.

All this background so that you can understand that mothers of young children around here are obviously on high alert.

Yesterday I decided that I would look for the elusive Cardinal, that bright-red bird which I have hardly seen, in the area where I last saw it…St Roch’s Church….which has the St Roch’s school attached (I saw that bird in the school yard actually.)

It was well below freezing yesterday, so I was nicely bundled up…vest, top, sweater, my rival-the-Eskimo black jacket, with the hood up over my cover-the-ears cap, thick mittens, thick trousers and walking shoes…I had my camera along too, but it didn’t show up among all the black.

I slipped and fell, possibly on some ice, but after having checked that not much except my pride was injured, was VERY keen on getting a photo of the cardinal and though my face got a little wet, I carried on towards the school. What I didn’t realize was that I had an awful golf-ball shaped lump on my right eyebrow, which enhanced my appearance even further.

As I stepped into the schoolyard, two ladies suddenly stepped out with unmistakably apprehensive looks and said,very loudly, “Can we help you?”

I immediately realized that possibly I was not looking a very reassuring sight, so I opened my mouth to tell them how I was a nice mother like them… and I realized that my face had practically frozen over. I couldn’t move my mouth properly and began to mumble something.

The ladies’ faces took on looks of actual horror as they backed in behind the safety of the door, from where they started yelling, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

I then held my camera aloft and by this time my mouth opened enough for me to talk properly and explain about the cardinal. The look of relief on their faces was comical.

I never knew that one day I would be thought of as a possible kidnapper, pervert, psycho or worse…but ah, it happened yesterday!

Anyway…I am NOT going after that cardinal any more….