We were enjoying good education and good living, suddenly we pulled down by poverty after my father was taken into prison and the the communist took over his assets and left us with nothing. There were no welfare or social program  as we know it, specially for those who stood against the communist thugs and their shia supporters.

My mother was worried about my father situation and yet she managed to feed us and sent us to school . She was great mother her 3rd grandfather was born in Macedonia and the second in Turkey and her grandfather and father were born in Zakho North Iraq That was belong to the Great Ottoman Empire once.  

 

The money that my mother saved for the dark days started to shrink day by day until we all had to work, go to school and during school holidays we washed cars, worked in a store, etc. My mother started  washing laundry and ironing  for the neighbors clothes for a price less than the dry cleaners charged. My mother sold our furniture slowly until we had very few left, we slept on the floor. Then she started selling her wedding jewelries except her wedding ring. My father had served 4 years and he had a  year more to go.

As times get harder for my mom to make a living, she finally sold her ruby and diamond wedding ring so she can provide us  food for one whole year.  She cried for that ring and when ever she look at her ringless finger,  she started to cry again not knowing I was watching her from a distant.

I prayed silently to God to make me a man and let me have a job so I can buy her a ring. I used to pray every day to God to help us ease our suffering and advised my mother to wait for my father when he come back and he will buy a new ring for her. In our rented house that was belong to an old lady,  she gave my mother a very good deal and rented it cheap for that my mother had to serve her and cleaned her house and did her shores. I remembered many times the old lady refused to take the rent money from my mother because of her service.  The rented house was built near the old lady house as part of an attachment unit and a small garden in between with two palm trees planted at the front yard.

On a school summer holiday, I had to work 5 days a week from 9 am to 5 pm at the store nearby and gave my earning to my mother. After school like any kids, I played soccer, hung around the small garden either reading or talking to my brother and my friends. At that time I began to develop a keen interest in the garden and all kind of animals that I still have those interest today and respect God creation. 

 

On one weekend when I was in the garden looking up at a bird nest on the top of the palm tree, I noticed those palm trees were male and female kind and only the female palm tree gave fruit dates. We used to collect and eat those delicious dates at the end of August and September.

The bird nest was belong to a crow. I used to see the both crows hovering around, guarding the nest and feeding their chicks.  The male crow worked to collect all kind of straws and built their nest as soon as the female crow laid her eggs and nesting, the male crow started to collect insects and brought the hunts for her.

Many insects including small scorpions were on the top of the female palm tree as it has the juicy dates that attracts insects, and lizards. I hate scorpions, I used to tell my brother that God made a mistake creating those poisonous  creatures, along with the snakes which I hated the most. My mother used to tell us that God created them for a purpose so leave them alone.  

One day when I was walking back to our home and to the small garden, I heard the male crow screaming and flying around the date palm tree with loud screams and he was attacking something on the tree. I looked up and I saw a snake trying to reach the nest to eat the eggs. 

 

 

 

 My heart was pounding very fast and I started to scream at the snake to leave them alone, I grabbed some small stones and started to throw them at the snake but with no luck the snake was slowly moving up.  The male crow tried to attack the snake tail to make her fall,  then I thought of something and called my brother  and asked him to help me to bring the water hose that  we had in the garden. Then we hooked it to water faucet and we pulled the hose and I stood on a chair  with the hose end on my hand, ready to aim at the snake then I told my brother turn-on the faucet to full blast. I aimed the water toward the palm tree on the snake  and  splashed the water over and over from all  sides and squeezed the hose to make the water jets go faster and more powerful until the  snake felt down from the tree to the ground. 

I continued to splash her and my brother was screaming and asked my mother to come for help. My mother rushed and carried my little brother away,  then she grabbed a wooden broom and started hitting the snake head until she killed it. Then she put it in a shoe box, wrapped it in a paper bag and put it out side in the garbage bin. 

The crow eggs was saved and the male crow flew very close to me and then went up to the female crow making sure she was OK,  it was like a Disney movie to me. My mother told the house owner  about the snake and then the old lady get someone to cover the holes where the snakes may hide in with cement and cleaned the garden. Since that moment the crow was so happy to see me, every time I come home, he fly near by me and sat very close.I used to wish that God Created me a bird like them so I can fly with them and go away from this miserable place called Iraq.

Some times I used to give him a grape or two,  and other times I share with him when I have more grapes . The eggs were hatched and the chicks were growing fast and almost at the end of the summer the small birds were ready to fly and they already practicing how to fly .

On one afternoon all 3 chiks and the parents were lined up and ready to fly and they created so much action, the male crow kicked the nest and it fell down on the ground beside the palm tree. The male crow  then flew close to me and started  screaming kaaa-kaaa many times, and went up again looked at me and flew away.

I felt so sad to see him leaving as I had a good friendship with him. I picked up the fallen straws and collected the nest that felt close to the tree.  When I picked up the nest, I saw a shining object in it, I thought it was a peace of a glass but when I picked it up I was stunned to see that it was the most beautiful diamond ring.

This is impossible I said to my self, why a ring was in the nest? From where was it stolen?  So I cleaned the area and ran to my mother and told her what I found and that God listened to my Prayers . She looked at the ring and was so surprised ,  and she asked me if I ever stole this from some where.  I told her no, I would never do such a thing, this is the truth. 

My mother then asked the old lady if she ever lost a ring but she said no. She then asked people around our area, but could not find anyone losing a ring. After sometimes, my mother decided to put the ring on her finger and it was slightly larger so she put a golden thread tied in the bottom to fit her finger .My father was released from prison few months later and I told him about the story . He was surprised. I always wondered about you my son,  you looked like a lizard when you were born , and may be the Crow want to eat you ,ha ha ha and he laughed and, laughd , I am just kidding, he said. My mother gave me that ring the day before I run away from Iraq , she told me that she don’t need it as she bought a new ring and asked me to keep it and give it to the lady of my life. You are the lady of my life mom, I said.

No son,  one day you will find her , and you give this ring to her, she said with a smile and a wink.

I kept that ring until it was stolen from me in Windsor Ontario back in 1986. How I wish I can get it back and I am willing to pay double the price ,but what comes from the crow goes back to the crow.

My mother passed away in 1997 , and my dad in 2003 .Until now I have deep respect and fascination about crows and ravens.                                                                     I  Thank God for his wonderful Creation.  

                                              Thank you for reading.

                                            Steve Ramsey, Calgary,          Alberta- Canada