Month: November 2012

I’m not terribly political, but right now I am appalled at our country. It is to our shame that we did not vote to upgrade Palestine to a nonmember observer state of the United Nations. It was the right thing to do and we failed. If we want peace between the two states, we have to recognize that Palestine is a state. How can negotiations ever be fair if both sides don’t have the same rights and privileges? And Hamas has to do the same about Israel. Yes, it sucked about how it all came about, but that genie is never going back into that bottle. Transcend and help make the world a better place.

I also just read this in the Times, “In response to the Palestinian bid, a bipartisan group of senators said Thursday that they would introduce legislation that would cut off foreign aid to the authority if it tried to use the International Criminal Court against Israel …” I don’t understand. If they have a valid case (or cases) to bring, why shouldn’t they have their day in court? Is the International Criminal Court a bad thing or something? I honestly don’t know a lot about it.

I took this at our dress rehearsal last night. If only we could form a chorale and orchestra from Israel and Palestine.

My first mistake was deciding to not go swimming after going to the dentist. “It’s a half an hour walk there and back,” I thought. “That’s enough exercise for the day.” Except the day fell apart after that. I’ve got a to-do list a mile long, and what did I do today?

– Wrote a new to-do list.

There is one bright spot in a couple of hours. Tonight we rehearse with the orchestra, and that is always such a pleasure. I will also get to hear the voices of those who will be singing around me. I already know I’ve got one great bass beside me, so, so far so good.

A rare shot of all three of us together. It’s hard to make out just what is going on in this photograph, but I’m sitting in a chair (doing nothing) with Finney on my lap (who is being nice and not killing the kitten) and Bleeck beside me on the chair (who is also being nice by not doing anything kill-worthy for five minutes straight).

I’d been working on a book proposal about wildlife rescue when I learned that someone else just sold a book about the very same subject. It’s fine, there are plenty of books out there to write, but I wanted to do my bit to draw attention to a wonderful group of people. The following is just one story of many.

The call came in on Sunday evening, April 29, 2012. A pigeon was hanging upside down from a tree in front of a church on 13th Street in the Village. As the caller watched, the bird desperately flapped its wings among the tree’s fernlike leaves, trying to free itself. Occasionally it would stop and sway quietly, taking a rest. Then it would resume its frantic beating. Horribly, this only sent it uselessly spinning in one direction or the other.

And on it went. Struggle. Rest. Struggle. Rest. A descendent of the very same bird who brought hope and salvation to Noah and all mankind in the form of an olive branch, signaling that dry land had been found, was ensnared by one of the simplest artifacts of man, a piece of string. Worse, its frightened, panicked efforts were beginning to slow down.

Al Streit, one of the founders of New York City Pigeon Rescue Central, took the call. He immediately posted to the group’s private online forum. This generated what is known as a Bird Down report. Technically, this bird wasn’t down, but he was in trouble.

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday April 29, 2012 at 10:53 p.m.

Going west from 7th, it’s the second tree on the right. Vincent [the caller] lives near and will look again in the morning. He estimates the bird is 30 or 40 feet up. He couldn’t see what kind of bird it is. It’s high, but we have poles that can reach. This job needs a crew. The poles are aluminum and not steady when extended that far.

Al

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012, 3:49 a.m.

Hi Al,

Jennifer

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 7:23 a.m.

Could it possibly be sitting on a nest? I am not far. I should check it out if I have time. I have a pole, but lost it somehow during the Freddy 9/11 Memorial rescue.

Maria [not her real name]

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 8:37 a.m.

Maria, I’ll meet you, but you may be there first.  

Al

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday April 30, 2012 6:43 a.m.

Jennifer, I didn’t mean to ignore your idea. It’s a good one. So, if we can’t reach the bird, we’ll try Emergency Services or the fire people. Sarah [not her real name] got FD to rescue a pigeon, and Dave and I got an ESU to rescue another one.

Al

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 6:49 am

Still there. About 30 feet up. A pigeon. Still moving. I bet it recognizes him and knows he wants to help.

Al

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 7:40 a.m.

132 west 10th Street.

Sarah

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 10:00 a.m.

I went to W19th and they were going to call a dispatcher to see what they could do, but in the middle of things, they got called out on an emergency. But the Chief said he would definitely check with their dispatcher.

Jennifer

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 11:33 a.m.

Trevor and I can come help get it down but we don’t leave work until 6 and can’t help until then. I sincerely hope you guys get it down before then, it sounds awful. If not, and we can help, please let us know and we will come down at 6pm.

Thanks.
Jessica

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday April 30, 2012 12:32 p.m.

Thank you all who are making an effort to save this poor bird. I wish I could do something myself, but I am keeping my fingers crossed and waiting anxiously for further news.

Jennifer

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, Apr 30, 2012 1:56 p.m.

We did it! Two workers at the church next to the tree used Al’s equipment and went up on a balcony and cut the strings off that were hanging from the branch! It was amazing. There was no way Al and I could have done it from the ground. We tried like hell, but without the extra height, it was impossible.

Maria

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday April 30, 2012 2:00 p.m.

Oh thank you Jesus (and Jennifer and Al and everybody else too).

Anntelope

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday, April 30, 2012 2:20 p.m.

Thanks be to God!!! I was praying & praying for this poor soul to be rescued soon & for him or her to be okay. Thank you to everyone who helped save this innocent bird. May God bless all of you!

Patricia [not her real name]

Re: Bird hanging from tree on 13 Street
Monday April 30, 2012 10:13 p.m.

Thanks, Maria and Alice [not her real name]. Thanks to Dave for lending his equipment. The tree saw was what they used to cut the string.

Al

Once freed, the bird flew to a fence across the street and immediately fell over. His leg was hurt and he couldn’t hold on. When he tried to walk he stumbled. Maria, a blonde-haired mezzo-soprano opera singer and wildlife rehabilitator, scooped him up and took him to a veterinarian. No bones were broken, but his feet were swollen. Maria named him Ricky, after one of the workers who saved him, and brought him home.

Luckily, pigeons heal fast. By Friday Ricky was fine and ready to be released. Maria put him in a box and took him back to 13th Street, across the street from where he’d been dangling. Pigeons are very social creatures. They live, travel, roost and feed in flocks, and when they find a mate they stay together for life. For this reason, rescuers always take pigeons back to where they found them so the pigeon can return to their flocks, their mates, and their babies.

When Maria opened the box, Ricky didn’t immediately bound out. He thought about it for a few moments. Then he flew to the fence, where he didn’t fall. His feet were strong again.

I spoke to Rick, the assistant building coordinator at The Church of the Village who had actually freed the bird. He’d been watching the rescuer’s repeated attempts to help the dangling pigeon and at one point he couldn’t stand by any longer. “Let me try,” he said. He climbed out onto the balcony of the church, leaned out as far as he could, and using the pole with a knife taped to the end, he started sawing away at the branch that held the pigeon. He’d started at a larger section, away from the pigeon, but he soon found he didn’t have enough force and he had to move to a more slender spot on the branch, one a mere two inches from the pigeon’s impossibly tiny leg. The bird was now flapping and spinning in fear, each spin bringing him closer to the blade. At the same time, Rick’s balance was wobbling as he moved further out, balancing himself and pole that was growing heavier by the minute.

Fortunately, before long, the branch and the bird were free and they dropped into waiting arms of the rescuers below. Everyone cheered, including passers by, who’d stopped to watch the spectacle. I looked at Rick. Every day, if we even bother to look up or down, someone comes upon a small creature in trouble, struggling as any one of us would, to live. Instead of walking on, as thousands of people invariably do, there are a few compassionate souls in the world who stop. They can’t go about their day like they never saw what they saw, or tell themselves that the suffering of one pigeon, or squirrel, or fox, (or dog or cat, and so on) is insignificant. They help. How did it feel when that bird was finally freed, I asked Rick. “It felt good,” he admitted, almost sheepishly. “I felt like a hero.”

Thank you Rick and New York City Pigeon Rescue Central, and all people and rescue groups around the world who stop, and who help.

Here is a short movie of the bird dangling from the tree. Warning: it’s upsetting, but at least you know in this case there was a happy ending.

Here is a short movie of the bird being released.

I took this last night after choir rehearsal. This was near my apartment. I don’t know what these lights were, or where they were coming from exactly, but I thought a rainbow was a fitting ending to this story.

Okay, it’s not the greatest cat film in the world, but there’s some really cute cat meows in it. And purring. And I sing at the end (talk-sing style).

You’ll see a bunch of ping pong balls on the coffee cable. I keep these handy to throw to Bleeck when necessary. When necessary: he’s biting my feet or hands or face, or—I kid you not—the top of my head, or he’s doing the same to Finney, or he’s doing the Indie 500 up and down the couch while I’m watching tv, sometimes missing a turn and flying off into the kitchen. At which point he comes charging back and jumps up onto my stomach, then back to the floor, then back up onto my stomach again, over and over. This is to show me that that whole missing the turn thing was just a fluke, he’s actually a tremendous athlete. Just look at this jump control!

Still puttering. Among other things, I’m catching up on my reading. Here’s a short article about a pigeon who died while trying to deliver a message during WWII. So far, cryptographers today have been unable to decode it. Of course I am focused on the long dead pigeon. Poor little guy. I wonder if they have tried contacting the pigeoneers, the WWII unit responsible for the carrier pigeons. Oh except they were from WWI? There must have been an equivalent unit during WWII as well, though. In any case, I’m sure one of the pigeon handlers have reached out to them by now.

Then there’s this fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the tech used to help elect President Obama. I just started this one, but so far it’s one of those fun page-turners articles that is not only a great read but you also feel like you’re learning something.

Aaaannnnnd, I want this Golden Book about space travel.

I held my camera over my head in Union Square on Black Friday and took a couple of shots. The crowd was too daunting so I didn’t go in there, even though I enjoy just looking at all the stuff in the booths. (It’s a holiday-mart set-up.)