“Do you believe in poetic justice?” asked Michelle.
Bob did not respond immediately. He had realized from earlier experiences debating with his bright wife that he better chew such philosophical questions before he spat out an answer.
“Do you..?” Michelle persisted.
“Supposing I did,” he hedged, having learnt this admirably effective technique from none other than Michelle.
“Then you have one more proof for your supposition.”
This response gave Bob something to chew upon, the second chewing within a minute. Something was dawning on him. Could it be…?
“Perhaps your mother lost her diamond ring that she flaunted everywhere, and a jewel you have been hinting could fit beautifully on your finger?”
Husbands are most hopeful when it comes to misfortunes striking their in-laws!
“No, you ass. This has nothing to do with mom, and all to do with the windmill”
Ah, the windmill. Now, this was getting interesting. Yes, they had this large wind turbine not far from their homes that they had complained about to the municipality, because of its noise and because of the large number of birds it killed. But where did poems and justice enter this picture?
“I don’t get it, Michelle. What about the windmill?”
“I see you have not read our local daily.”
Bob admitted that he had not.
“They are dismantling the wind turbine”
“Really. Wow. I’m pleased. But…how? We have been pleading for years, and they never even pretended to care”
How many times he had personally met the town administration and petitioned about the windmill! The authorities always managed to find an excuse and let the matter lapse. Bob strongly believed it was because of the wind industry-friendly deputy mayor, a shrewd man who knew which screws to tighten when it came to crunch.
“Why this sudden change of heart, my dear Michelle? Please enlighten me”
“It was a change not of heart but that of the mayor. You know that a new mayor took office last week?”
“Yes”
“He is an environmentalist, with a special interest in biodiversity”
“Ok…”. Lightbulb goes on.
Michelle helped it shine better.
“You see, since the last few months, many different birds had started nesting around the zone where the windmill is located. The new mayor, while recently touring that part decided that there was such a large bird population that the entire area actually qualified to become a bird sanctuary. And here’s where local laws come in aid of poetic justice – per them, there can be no industrial facilities or large moving infrastructure within a ten kilometer radius of any bird sanctuary”