Charlotte the Rooster

  When my daughter, Liz, married last month she left a rooster behind.  His name is Charlotte because she mistook him for a hen in the beginning. Like any rooster, I suppose, Charlotte used to strut around like he was all that and a bag of chips, as my son, Ben, would say.
  Then something happened that completely demoralized Charlotte.  He lost his tail feathers.  We're not sure exactly how, but we suspect our dog may have had something to do with it.  You see, Charlotte had a bad habit of pecking at Hunter's food dish, and though the cats back off if the chickens try to share their food, Hunter doesn't.  At first, there were a few feathers missing.  But soon, he was completely without tail feathers.Once he was tailless, he no longer strutted around the yard.  In fact, he was hard to find.  It was like he was hiding. Today, I saw him, a little bolder.  His feathers are finally growing, again.
   As I have watched Charlotte, it has gotten me to thinking.  Sometimes, we have our "tail feathers" removed.  It may happen through divorce, loss of a job, an accident or illness, or a host of other things." Now, I ask you this, "Do you find it amusing that Charlotte could be so negatively affected by the loss of a few feathers?"  If so, then examine your own life.  How have you/are you allowing something to define you when it has no business doing so?