Peewee the pigeon, Coneheads, and the Milky Way

Last night while I was covering Peewee's cage I noticed how much larger he had gotten and that almost all the pinfeathers around his head had turned into smooth gray feathers. I decided that I would take him back to Lowe's today and set him free. If he survives he will be one of the healthier pigeons; he was actually becoming beautiful. I felt concerned about his cage being to small; whether he was getting enough exercise; and how he was going continue learning to fly at my house. I was also concerned because he just wanted to eat bird seeds, even when I put noodles or cooked brown rice in his cage. In just two weeks he had become quite spoiled; as a wild pigeon he needed to be able to eat a variety of foods. I was also concerned because he was still afraid of me, and I really did not want him to become tame. This morning, I put Peewee and the cage in my car, took a box of corn flakes with me and headed for Lowe's. When I got to Lowe's I road around the building and never saw a pigeon. So then I road over to Fred Myers, because I had heard they had pigeons; well much to my dismay I did not see a pigeon at Freddie's either. I road back to Lowe's, pulled over to a grassy spot, got Peewee out of his cage, poured the box of corn flakes by him onto the ground, and got back into my car. As I was getting into the car Peewee was running under my car. I could hear him crying. So I slowly pulled away and he ran over to the last place his cage had been, by the corn flakes. He was quite beautiful running in the sunlight, I could see some purple developing on his chest and neck. I hope his homing instinct will cause him to fly over to the Lowe's building where all the other pigeons nest, and to where he was born. Hopefully, he'll be okay. If he survives he'll father healthy baby pigeons, all those vitamin infused seeds he ate while in my care might give him the opportunity to acclimate to the natural world of pigeons over the next couple of days. Pigeons are social birds, so I don't think they will reject him when he shows up. Funny, he wasn't in my house for very long and I missed his presence here all ready. I am going into town again tomorrow, so will check the spot where I left him today while I'm there.

On a different topic, I asked my neighbor, Jennifer, if she had any movies I could borrow. In a pile she brought over were Dr. Dolittle and Coneheads. I watched the Conehead movie tonight. I've never seen Saturday Night Live, the Conehead story was spectacular, funny and too realistic about our search for illegal aliens.

Today is 9/11 and it is good to take a good hard look at people who want to harm others in this country for political reasons, whether they people are from another country, or whether they are children of this country. I remember 9/11, it was a frightening and horrifying day. It was my first day of a Clinical Pastoral Education Program at the Veteran's Hospital in Seattle and on every television in every room the trauma of the twin towers was occurring over and over for the entire week. I am sure the 9/11 attacks affected people on the east coast more than we were affected here on the west coast but even the distance did not ameliorate all the stress and trauma of those horrific attacks. So it is good to keep up the search for illegal aliens and to be aware of who and why some people are in our country; it is also good to remember that any person who is not of Native American heritage came to this country as aliens from other countries. We need to be careful not to abuse people just because they do not look or talk like we look or or speak.

So about the stars and distant galaxies, I am not sure there are coneheads or little green men in other worlds, but I love to sit in my back yard as the dogs play and look at the stars. A month ago I was thinking about the Milky Way and I was mourning that at age 59 I had never seen it. I wouldn't know what the Milky Way was even if I were looking at it. I keep looking for the pathway of the spirits, but can never figure out if I am looking at it or not. Today I say on the Yahoo News that the Milky Way will be clearly visible on 9/18. I can hardly wait. I hope the weather stays clear so I can see this wonderfully cosmic occurrence. Then the next thing I want to see is the Aurora Borealis. I may have to go to Alaska to see it, but I will find a way. Those are two of the wonders of this world that I want to see while I can still see and while I still have the energy to be amazed by the wonders of creation. Have a blessed day, Iris