See what I mean Snuggles!
Gotcha to look!
And no, this Post is not about Billy Bumbles.
Or a Pickle Poem.
Come on! You Goof!
My story is in this blog too. Go Find it!
Go Find it!
And, back by popular demand:
The Man on the Throgs Neck Bridge
(A story for Kimber)
(Thank You MW)
(A story for Kimber)
(Thank You MW)
It was late in the day and getting dark, and time for the Seagulls to find a spot to perch for the night. The best places were atop the light posts that were interspersed every 200 feet along both lanes of the long cable suspension bridge.
There was only room for one seagull on each globe, and, as usual, all the seagulls in the Flock that called the Throgs Neck Bridge and it's vicinity their home would jockey for a light post, often hovering and wrestling with their mates, and, once settled, would stay there. It is very similar to the way Humans try for a seat on the subway, or a bus. It isn't necessarily a hostile battle, but there are selfish motives all the same, even though the Seagulls were, overall, a friendly and respectful community.
On this evening there was one tired old seagull named Caleb, who was having a hard time finding a lampost to perch upon. Caleb was not as nimble or quick as he used to be. He could not outpace or outrace the younger seagulls, who, with every passing year, seemed to be getting faster and faster.
Caleb tried for the nearest lampost, but arrived too late as a younger, immature, mottled and brownish seagull beat him there with plenty of time to spare.
“Sorry old Dude” said the mottled seagull. (Most Immature seagulls don't learn real manners until their feathers molt after a couple of years, and they take on their true adult colors of driftwood grey on their wings, and stunning snow white on their head and breasts and undersides.
Caled sighed and flew off in search of another lightpost, but this evening he wasn't having much luck. He flew higher for a better view, and saw that all along the north and southbound lanes on the bridge, every lightpost had a seagull already perched on top.
‘This is bad’, thought Caleb. 'If I don’t find a spot, I’ll have to perch higher up on the bridge where the winds are stronger, and it is far colder. I don’t know how many more nights like that I can stand, and especially now that the fall is over and the cold winter winds are setting in.'
For you see, as I say, Caleb was an older seagull. He had lived a long life-longer than most seagulls could ever hope to live, and he now felt tired most of the time. His once snow white breast was dull, and the downy feathers covering it were thinner. The grey on top of his wings, stiff and weakened by age, was somewhat dingy. And Caleb oftentimes felt dispirited and cynical, for all of the seagulls that he had grown up with in his youth were gone now, and Caleb was the last one left. The younger seagulls, although they were fine companions, did not seem to really know and love him in the true sense-the way his parents and mate (who had died while on the nest, along with the eggs of his two children) did--and Caleb missed the playmates of his youth.
Caleb hovered in the stiff winter breeze for a while, and looked all about.
“The West Wind will have no mercy tonight” he thought. His cheeks will fill and blow hard.”
Caleb noticed that his old his friend, Selwyn, was perched atop one of the more envable light-posts near the toll booths.Although the toll booth section tended to by noisy with car and truck traffic, it was much lower and warmer, and besides, there was less traffic and noise at night.
Caleb adjusted his wings, and dipped into a gradual and graceful dive (Though very old, Caleb could still fly gracefully if he wanted to) and circled once, and then hovered around old Selwyn.
Selwyn was not as old as Caleb, but he could still remember a time when Caleb could out jockey and perch better than him and every other seagull in the Flock.
“Ho there old timer!” Selwyn said. “No Luck tonight?”
Caleb chuckled. “It’s Good to see you” he said. I thought you might have become lost at the City Dump."
Selwyn laughed at Caleb’s remark. With each passing year , they both frequented the City Dump more and more often for the easy meals and scraps that they would find among the mounds of fresh garbage. It was easy to tear open a plastic trash bag and rummage around inside for a piece of chicken, or even fish if they were lucky, or at least, and more commonly, bread. For at this point in their lives they both noticed that trying to hover along the shoreline, as the younger seagulls did, in search of conch shells or rock or spider crabs, was much a much more difficult way to get a meal. What was especially difficult was trying to break a conch shell open by flying high into the air over the pavement and dropping it-over and over if necessary- until it cracked- and they could access the meat inside with their barrow bills.
“I found a nice buffalo wing today” Selwyn said. "You know, I am amazed at how much Humans can waste and throw in the garbage. The wing was fresh-probably from a restaurant I think, because it had a little too much seasoning, and one side had hot sauce, which made me very thirsty.”
“All I found was some bread” Caleb replied. “But it filled me up allright."
Selwyn looked at Caleb with concern and said:
“Old Friend, would you like to have my perch tonight? You look very tired. It is really no problem for me to sleep higher up on the bridge.”
But Caleb wouldn't hear of taking Selwyn up on his generous offer.
“No my friend” Caleb said. “That is very kind of you, But you have only one leg, and that has weakened you enough. Stay here and rest yourself. It will be a hard day tomorrow for you at the City Dump.”
Selwyn grunted and was silent. The wind had shifted slightly, so Caleb tilted his wings and circled around, and then came back to hover once more over Selwyn.
Caleb said: "I noticed a young Human a few minutes ago climbing the main suspension cable over the north- bound lane. He’s almost to the top of the Main Tower."
“Another one?” said Selwyn. “That must be the fourth one this year”
“Yes” replied Caleb. "And this one looked determined. I think he is going to do it."
Selwyn let out a long sigh.
To Be Continued
And this clip below foreshadows a story I am working on and will Post in Future
And this, also prelude, and to ward off Evil and black soul Touro Witchcraft and Demons :
