March 31, 1995
Dear Everyone:
I have a pair of
birds in my neighborhood; I believe they are called rock doves,
definitely of the pigeon family, but smaller, light brown, with smooth
heads and small beaks.
Now, pigeons are notoriously poor nest builders.
If a pigeon builds a nest in a
tree branch, there is a better than even chance that the eggs will fall
through the nest and go splat. Mother
Nature has compensated for this failing by instructing members of the
pigeon family to build their nests on high, flat surfaces, such as a
shelf on a cliff face, or on top of a wall, preferably where there is
some shelter, like an overhang. These
two birds have found the perfect place to build their nest and set up
housekeeping:
On top of the fire extinguisher outside my front door.
Specifically, on top of the case
that holds the fire extinguisher.
Now, from a bird's point of view, this place is nearly perfect.
It's high, a little over 5 feet
off the ground, attached to the wall. It's
painted a dark brown, nearly the same color as the birds themselves.
It's sheltered, having the wall
on one side, and covered by the stairs that go up to the next level.
And it's close to a good food
supply, to wit, the bird-feeder on my patio.
In fact, the only drawback is the
traffic of people going into and out of my place and the one next door.
And I honestly doubt if the
people next door even know it's there. I
had to point it out to “Jeannie” the last time she was here.
So it's just a matter of time before we have little birdies coming into
the world, provided no one decides to have a fire.
As for me, I'm doing my part by
coming and going quietly and keeping the bird-feeder filled.
Newsflash from “Jeannie”: If you
have an automatic dishwasher; and you filled it with dirty dishes; and
you discover that you’ve run out of dishwasher detergent: substituting a
common
dishwashing liquid, such as "Lemon
Fresh Joy", or Dawn, is
not a good idea. It may
result in a gooey, slimy mess and a
very sticky floor.
“Jeannie” recommends that you not
try this at home.
Movie Review:
Outbreak,
starring Dustin
Hoffman and René
Russo as scientists trying to prevent an epidemic.
This movie manages to be quite
suspenseful with very little in the way of shoot-outs, car chases,
flying buses, or any of the other staples for a thriller.
Donald
Sutherland is great as a quietly wild-eyed general who may, or may
not, be crazy.
In other news…
I think “Frankie”-”Jeannie”-“Alice’s” idea of celebrating the folks’ 50th
wedding anniversary this summer, when most, if not all, of us are in
Oregon is a terrific
idea. I vote for the weekend
before we go to
Ashland.
That would be July 22-23.
We can clean up the place, get
the food (“Alice’s” department), have the party, clean up after, and
then go to Ashland to rest up (those of us who do go to Ashland, that
is). “Marshall” has already said,
"Just tell me where to be and when."
Now the only question is: What do
we get for a present? Another
dishwasher? Open to suggestions.
Love, as always,
Pete
PS. I understand from “Jeannie”
that “Alice” has stumbled across the syndicated TV series
Hercules (something very,
very loosely based on Greco-Roman mythology) and didn't know quite
what to make of it. This is New
Zealand's answer to
Arnold
Schwarzenegger, a bodybuilder hoping to parlay pectorals and biceps
into an acting career. (You can't
lift weights forever.) The
executive producer is
Sam Raimi, who has a considerable cult following for his outlandish
horror films, such as
Evil Dead
and
Army of
Darkness. This generally
means:
1.
A hero with a smart mouth
2.
Absurd plot lines
3.
Most of the budget going to special effects
Relax, “Alice”, it's not supposed to be taken seriously.
P.
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