Last time I headed up the hiking trail I found a wounded bird. It was a sparrow that had a broken wing, well it looked like it did according to my very limited veterinary skills, yet was otherwise healthy. I pondered what to do. After all, I have to sleep with myself at night and know that every day I do the right thing and make pro-survival decisions.

What could I possible do with this poor bird that deserved a second chance at life? Obviously there were no around to scoop him into so I would have to get creative. I knew that I had to try to save this little guy's life or fail in the attempt.

This is where it got interesting. I had nothing in my backpack to put the bird into and was afraid of carrying it by hand for fear of damaging its wing any further. What to do...what to do.

I quickly decided to scour the garbage bin I had seen on my way up the trail. I would have to backtrack only a few minutes to get there. One look at the bird told me that he wasn't going to be heading anywhere soon.

Digging through the trash was an experience. It took a lot of confront and the only way I was able to get through it was by keeping the vision of the bird in mind. I dug until I struck gold! An empty French-fry box that was relatively clean came to light.

I worked my way back to the bird and delicately placed him in the box. He didn't like it much but I did. He was being given a second chance.

Needless to say it was the shortest hike I ever went on but the most valuable. I learned a few things that day that I'll never forget. The most important was that of all the hikes I ever took, and there were thousands before this one, this one was by far the best. I guess there's something about being a savior that really hits me.

As for the bird, I drove to a store and got it some water before dropping it off at a local bird sanctuary. I saw the bird surrounded by other feathered friends in various sizes and shapes of bird cages and knew that he would be safe. As for me, I slept well that night.