When I was young, my perception of what was real and possible in the universe was based on the premise that “facts” and “logic” were the cornerstones of what was widely known as “reality.” I adhered to this mistaken notion unquestioningly, not realizing that there is indeed magic in the world, and that often we just have to be in the right place at the right time to discover it.
My concept of reality was about to change forever on the enchanting island of Rhodes, Greece. Rhodes is steeped in mystery, as it was once home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Colossus of Rhodes, a massive bronze statue erected in 280 BC. C., which with more than 30 meters high, rose majestically protecting the port.
It was within this mythical setting that I met my travel companion and good friend Wendell. Wendell and I had been touring Europe for several months, and we had ventured to Rhodes with the intention of seeing the place where the famous statue once stood. We were captivated by the beauty and charm of the island, and intrigued by the inexplicable feeling in the air that this was a place where anything could happen.
As we were leisurely strolling through the old part of the city one sunny afternoon, we suddenly heard a loud and powerful beating of wings directly overhead. We looked up and were amazed at the presence of the largest pelican we had ever seen. To our astonishment, the pelican gracefully glided to land directly in front of us.
We stood in silence gaping at the bird, stupefied. The pelican then began walking down the sidewalk intentionally, as if it had an explicit destination in mind. We quickly followed him at a safe distance to make sure we didn’t determine him by his target.
It was a hot summer day, and as was the custom on the island, the shops along the street had their doors open to welcome visitors and allow the refreshing sea breeze to blow in.
The pelican kept walking and then stopped briefly before suddenly walking into a local pharmacy. We eagerly followed him inside, where a handful of customers were casually looking on.
Without hesitation, the pelican brushed past the bewildered customers into an adjoining back room of the store, where it began to pace back and forth past shelves that stocked a variety of medicines, as if searching for a particular item. We all froze, watching the strange behavior of this strange creature. After a few moments, he seemed to give up his peculiar search for him and reentered the interior of the store.
We waited expectantly for what would happen next. To our surprise, she stopped in the center of our little group, and in turn, she looked each of us square in the eye, as if trying to convey some personal message.
I remember that its eyes looked eerily human, and a strange feeling came over me that it wasn’t really a pelican, but rather an apparition that had temporarily taken on form like this curious bird.
Without further ado, he left the store as abruptly as he had come in, took a few steps toward the street, and flew away. We looked at each other with wide eyes in disbelief, seeking validation from the other that what we had witnessed actually happened. Although some token suggestions were offered, no one had a plausible explanation for what the pelican was doing there or why.
When I look back on my life, I can remember many extraordinary events that I will treasure forever, but none so full of joyous spontaneity as the extraordinary day we encountered the mysterious Pelican of Rhodes.