Familial relationships bring folks together, and at times sadly they are the cause of differences. In our own extended family, I have witnessed this fact of life in the ongoing relationship between my Good Wife and Gladys. I do not mean to criticize either, but I must recognize the chill between them.
My Good Wife is a generous and sharing person, one who finds great happiness in preparing a meal for everyone, mending children’s clothes (mine too at times) and welcoming visitors. Gladys, on the other hand, could be called self-centered. She always has to come first and to assert her authority over everyone except me, obviously not a gregarious gesture on her part, but rather, she fully realizes that I am the one who usually feeds her.
When I do serve meals in the barnyard, Gladys stands back until I have finished, then she swoops in as the first in line to eat. She is prepared to discipline any of the chickens who dare to try to snitch a bite, but she allows the other web-footed residents to dine with her. For their part, the chickens have to wait on the sidelines, which means that I too have to stand by to re-feed them in the event Gladys has left nothing for them to eat.
She rarely objects to the Quacks dining with her and rather expects to have Henry by her side as her consort. Her relationship with Henry is analogous to that between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. She is happy to have him there, as long as he remembers that she is Number One, and dutifully follows two steps behind her, exactly as Henry does behind Gladys.
Gladys cuts a majestic, regal figure, positing unforgettable memories in those she encounters. Sovereign is the best word to use to describe the ambience that surrounds her. Should we have any other geese come to us, I am confident that she would consider them to be Ladies in Waiting.
I have never seen Gladys and Henry argue about anything, and hope I never do. I would not know whose side to take in any dispute between them. When I am away on travel, my Good Wife dutifully serves their meals to the barnyard residents. She is partial to the chickens, perhaps because she enjoys the eggs they give us.
My Good Wife grew up on the banks of the Chester River on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I often have seen large gaggles of geese, pausing on their migratory flights north and south, between her parents’ house and the shoreline. They are a family to themselves, and do not care to socialize with neighboring humans or other fowl.
Domestic geese are not as solitary, being used to living with people, and especially being fed by people. Geese are the most anthropomorphic of animals. The gander stands by the nest while his spouse is setting on the eggs, and subsequently joins her in raising the offspring. I first became enamored with geese as a young boy visiting friends in the Shenandoah Valley where I saw a proud gander marching his brood of goslings down to the water, an unforgettable sight.
Regrettable, my Good Wife never has experienced such paternal anserine behavior, thus she has not bonded with the species as I have. Although she admires and appreciates gaggles of Canada geese, she is not fond of their domestic cousins.
Late each winter and into early spring, when Gladys is laying her enormous eggs, my Good Wife uses them to concoct a truly delectable goose egg frittata and a sumptuous goose egg cheesecake, both of which are far tastier than their counterparts made with chicken eggs. For cooking purposes, my Good Wife considers one goose egg to be equal to three hen eggs.
As readers might surmise, in our barnyard, the structure is hierarchical, with Gladys reigning supreme, followed by the Quacks, with the chickens bringing up the rear, thus is the barnyard “pecking order.”
