kafenes wrote:miltiades wrote:
Stop killing birds and other creatures Cypriots ! It is a national shame that such lovely creatures are wiped out for no other reason than the fun of shooting. In my days growing up in Paphos I would shoot birds with my catapults on a daily basis. I was ignorant and wasnt made aware by the then environment , schools , churches , elders etc that such cruelty was unbecoming of a young boy growing up. Now at 61 , in two days time , I sit in my study watching the little birds feeding on my bird feed and derive such immense pleasure. To listen to them singing is pure bliss.
Dear miltiades
I feel the same about not just birds but any living creature. When you were growing up in Paphos, game, which one hunted would probably be the only meat they could afford. I am lucky to have come from a well off family in Larnaca and never deprived of food. Now I live in Paphos and one of my best friends is a man from a nearby village (about the same age as you) and he tells me stories about hunger and the only meat they could afford was the goat they would steal. Tough life.
BTW have a great day on Tuesday!!
Thanks for your wishes . It is true that my generation killed birds in order to eat them not necessarily because of hunger but purely you were eating meat in contrast to the staple diet consisting of fasolia , koutsia and revithkia. All of them my favourite foods now .
Another factor was that there wasnt that much to entertain us all those years ago , TV wasnt around , radio was scarce , cinema only in towns , we had Karakiotzis once in a blue moon .I remember my first ever ice cream ! I was just over nine years old , and boy did it taste good. Coca Cola had just arrived and the wafer thin Nestle bars of chocolate were the craze !! And yet they were happy years , simple things gave us tremendous pleasure .Last year I bought my granddaughter , she was 3 years old then , a real dvd that she enjoys watching her cartoons and Disney films. She shuts herself in her bedroom lies in bed eating crisps and watching dvds , She has no need to go hunting birds , besides her parents wouldn't allow it ! How things have changed over the years and yet these wonderful creatures are not appreciated as they ought to.
I spend a lot of time by myself and find such pleasure in watching the birds in my garden, the bloody cats are always around , but they too are wonderful creatures not as good as my 9 year old Boxer dog , Max , that hates cats , as dogs do , and always chases them away from the garden.
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