Commuting this morning and a pile of ducklings in the middle of 38th street got 3 lanes of traffic to stop and live life for a minute. It took me a few beats to figure out why we were stopped. Then I saw them. About a baker’s dozen baby ducks waddling like little drunk people around three lanes of traffic. And we all stopped. And nobody honked. Or tried to go around. Three or four of us got out to help mamma get her children out of harm’s way. She was in the median pretending to be easier prey to lure us away from her errant youth. But we’re smarter than the predators for which evolution had prepared her. And more compassionate. A fireman and a couple samaritans gathered up babies while I herded mamma and a stumbling runt to the side of the road. One of the civilians was on her cell phone the whole time but could not have seemed more concerned for those ducks. We got the job done and I made some quip about parents these days. The fireman told mamma duck not to try that again.

Just when I least expected it, a pile of baby ducks and a few commuter – who remembered to act like human beings -decided to warm my heart this morning.