10 April 2021 – Key West is home to a lot of wild chickens. They aren’t destructive like pigeons or geese, and they aren’t as quick as squirrels, so they are enjoyable. Every time I see one of these chickens, I think about the word chicken and how we call people “chicken” if they are scared or wimp out of something. Why do we call people who are scared chicken? These chickens are not scared of anything. They do their thing. I have seen them everywhere – in the pool, in the street, in the cemetery and on the fence. They do whatever they want whenever and wherever they want. They aren’t “chicken” at all!

What would it take for me to be more like these chickens? Just living my life wherever I want; however, I want. Sometimes being loud and maybe even scaring people. Could I ever be this confident and free? What would it take for me just to be me? Before contemplating too long, I thought I should research why we call people “chicken”? I found two main explanations for using chicken in a derogatory manner. There were many more, but these two seemed almost universal.

The first explanation is based on the story of Chicken Little. We all know the story of the chicken who had an acorn drop on his head, and he immediately thought the sky was falling. He was so sure of it that he told everyone he met that the sky was falling. Some of his friends believed him, but others were skeptical. He ran around in a fury, telling everyone. Eventually, he was proven wrong and laughed at for being so silly. Well, I am okay with Chicken Little. He responded similarly to how I would have. I would have initially been scared and told everyone I loved so they could be safe. My logical mind would have forced me to figure out what was going on, but I definitely would have told everyone to be careful because, to me, other people and their safety always comes first. You go, Chicken Little.

The second explanation is even better, and it is based on something that happened during the Civil War. In 1864 when a man wanted to join the union army, he was given a chicken. The man immediately took the chicken home, where it was cooked for him and his family to enjoy. He was expected to return the next day for duty. Some of these men would not come back and be called out in the paper as “chickening out.” Although I am sad that these men decided they didn’t want to serve in the Union Army, I don’t consider them chicken. These men were realists who knew themselves well enough to know that they were not cut out for the army and what it entailed. By staying home, they saved lives. They knew that they could not do what the army required of them, and they were scared. Their fear saved the lives of the men who would have served beside them and counted on them. It could be the reason these soldiers would die. I am honest enough to know that I can’t do everything – would you call me a chicken?

Chickens of Key West and Chickens of the World. Brave in different ways but the same in the important ones. Do what matters to you the best that you can. I definitely want to be more like the chickens of Key West. I want to be brave, crazy, loud and colorful.