Killing + Kindness

The other day I was at my favorite shop in town- Lakeview Lockers. It is a butcher shop that allows you to buy up to a full steer at a time. It also sells gourmet cheeses from around Oregon and micro brews and baked goods from a local baker. And it accepts food stamps so I love to shop there. I was there having a discussion with the co-owner Kelly about the Saturday Market I am working to revitalize here in town. Now, we were chatting in the back of the store. It was warm and very simple and clean. But, to get there we had to walk through the bloody butchering section. Now, I am perfectly comfortable with the blood and guts. After seven long years as a vegetarian, I have embraced all meat (with the exception of some of the random parts that I ate while in Peru) and the process from corral to table.

I was about 30 minutes into the Farmers' Market discussion when in walk three butchers, covered in blood and various cow/chicken/pig/lamb parts. The three butchers had found a rogue parakeet outside the shop and wanted to save it. It was amazing, here these professional killers (who kill huge bovines) were trying to save a small, light blue, useless bird from the 24 degree weather.


This incident reminded me of one day out to haul. It was my first season working on a lobster boat and I didn't know the two guys I was working with that well. Actually, I didn't know them at all and I was scared of them. And I never talked and I vomited. A lot. Anyway, one day we were in the middle of the ocean, it sort of always seemed like that, on this particular day visibility was very low and it was cold. It was a standard day for a lobster boat: lots of fresh herring and bait and killing of crabs and various sea life as it came aboard our vessel. And I noticed both the guys I was working with were sort of giggling in the cabin of the boat and work was slowing down. So, even though I was scared to talk I walked into the cabin to see what was going on.

I was like guys whats going on. Then they turned around a bit startled and said they would tell me if I didn't tell anyone. Ahh. Ok. And then they showed me this tiny, little bird nestled up next to one of the heating vents. It was lost at sea and had flown near the boat and they wanted to warm it up and release it back on the island. It was the only moment of my season with those guys that I ever saw any compassion. And even more amazing because there is so much death and destruction on lobster boats I thought for sure they would try to use it as bait.