I Helped a Pigeon

Why did I do such a thing? Those things are flying rats. Disease ridden filth soaring above your head. I normally don't thrive on the misery of animals, but while traveling Europe my friends and I had a kitty going to pay the first person who attempted to kick a pigeon and actually made contact. Don't know who actually won that money, but I gave who ever it was a run for their money. Long story short, I hate those birds. Yet, I helped one survive.

I was on the subway platform, the J line, Myrtle-Wyckoff stop to be exact. This stop is above ground, straddling the road along the way. I was staring out over Manhattan when this bird got a bit too close to me. I heard him before I saw him. He was shaking his head vigorously. Good, I thought, this little p.o.s is having a seizure, one less rat in the sky.

Upon further investigation, however, I saw what the bird was trying to do. He was attempting to break apart a large piece of bagel that he couldn't quite get down his little gullet. He would shake, set the piece down, pick at it a bit, then grab hold again, and shake again with all his might. This continued for some time. One of his intense shakes sent his remanence of bagel my way. He took a couple steps toward me. I shifted my weight, and he took this as a sign of aggression and subsequently backed off.

I felt sorry for the guy. He was only trying to get by like everyone else in this over-crowded city. So I stomped on the bagel bite, grinding it into the ground, breaking it into pieces. I then took a few steps away from it, letting the bird know it was ok to advance toward the food. As he nibbled, he glanced up at me and did one of those cute animal head tilts (any dog owner knows what I'm taking about) as if to say thank you or perhaps, why the hell did you do that. I'm not quite sure, I don't speak pigeon.

As I thought about that bird on the remainder of my subway ride, I found myself comparing his life and my own. I'm like him in a lot of ways. Sometimes I need help from strangers just to get by. Sometimes I flap around with the rest of the flock not exactly knowing where to go. Sometimes my neck and eyes dart from side to side to ensure there is not any danger... mostly when I run. But lately that hasn't been a problem since I've been running in a cemetery.

Oh yea, to take this post in a completely different direction, I have been living in a new apartment for the month of October (which is right next too a cemetery). And I'll be here till next October. That's right, I walked the plank. This is no longer a little experiment to see if the city suits me. I'm here... well for a year at least. But I'm going to give it my all in this year. See what I can make of myself here. Hopefully, I'm like the pigeon in some ways, finding opportunity where least expected, but I also hope that I'm not like him as well. I hope to keep my feathers relatively clean and not have to get my food after it's been stomped on by a stranger.