For the birds

This post is not for the weak of stomach.

A problem I've noticed at my apartment complex is certain species of birds nesting and ultimately dying in our carports. Shortly after I moved here, I was like, "What's with the dead birds dangling from the carports?" Recently, this first spring that I've used a carport, I've witnessed these morbid scenes firsthand. In the roof/ceiling, there are drains with tiny slits where birds build nests and lay their eggs. The eggs hatch, but the hatchlings are trapped in there, because when they get big enough to learn how to fly, their heads are too big to fit through the slits. Eventually, the birds die, I guess from breaking their necks or exhaustion, and their little carcasses are dangling in the breeze.

This spring, I believe 3 eggs hatched in the drain that's closest to my carport slot. First egg: One morning, a couple of the maintenance men were prying back the drain to free a bird that was still alive. Cheerfully, I got in my car and drove to work, happy that a bird was spared. Second egg: Another morning a couple of weeks later, I noticed a bird was squawking and struggling in the same drain. I hurried to the apartment office to tell them about it. The girl who worked there looked kind of annoyed. I drove to work thinking the problem had been taken care of. But when I came home, the bird was still there. But it was dead. I went back to the office and told the afternoon girl, who expressed concern but said there wasn't anything they could do about it, but that she'd inform the maintenance men. The bird's carcass hung there for ONE WEEK. One stinkin' week of people driving or walking by and not doing anything about it. It was dangling at least 6 feet off the ground -- it couldn't even enter the food chain as a meal for stray cats. After being weighed down for so long, the bird's neck almost ripped off its head before the lazy or clueless maintenance staff FINALLY removed it. Third egg: Just this morning, another bird was struggling to get free. "OK, I'm not gonna let this happen again," I uttered as I walked back up to my apartment to get my stepstool. I climbed up there and tried to free it myself, but I was unsuccessful. (The poor thing squawked and pooped on me.) I angrily drove to work, calmed down, cleaned the poop off my shirt, and called the apartment office.

Then... this evening when I got home, I saw the little bird alive on the lawn right in front of my carport. Yay, non-lazy, non-clueless maintenance staff! The poor bird probably doesn't even know how to fly yet, and he's got some of his feathers missing on his neck, but at least he's known life outside the drain as he waddles around on the grass. (I left bits of bread there on the ground for him. He squawked at me, but hopefully he'll get the idea and chow down.) He's probably vulnerable to predators because he might not know how to fly away, but at least he's got a chance! Waddle away, little bird!!

No, it wasn't smart of those birds to lay their eggs in a death trap, but I think my apartment complex should respect their wildlife a little more.

If anyone in my path is in desperate need, I sure hope I don't treat them like they annoy me and then blow them off. I want to know what to do and then do it without being asked, or at least try to help and then let someone more knowledgeable pick up where I left off. I want to be someone who helps others have another chance at life. (Whether they metaphorically poop on me or not.)

Tirzah's Top 5s

Funniest things I've ever seen...
1) my dad driving a U-Haul so close to an old, rusty sign that it creaked at a 90-degree angle.
2) my dad burping while stalling a fast-food order at a drive-thru.
3) my cat suddenly leaping onto the coffee table after I opened an umbrella.
4) dancing hippos in tutus (it was Fantasia at the movie theater sometime in the 80s).
5) dancing spastic balloon-thingies on the edge of a car dealership.

Biggest regrets I've ever had...
1) convinced myself that I was in love with a man, when I wasn't.
2) tried to take my own life.
3) treated a good friend like crap (on more than one occasion).
4) walked away from a toddler while I was changing him (and he fell to the floor and hit his head).
5) rudely snubbed a guy who was going door to door soliciting donations for a cancer society.

Hardest things I've ever lived through...
1) getting continually cornered by a guy who wouldn't stop debating me one summer.
2) trying to live off a paycheck that just wouldn't pay the bills or adequately feed me.
3) tapering off an antidepressant and learning how to feel emotions again.
4) enduring an 8-hour shift at a job I'd barely been trained on with a witchy supervisor, working through my meal break, then driving home that night through flooded streets.
5) realizing that a friend wasn't really a friend (on more than one occasion).

Scariest moments I've ever had...
1) my car getting halfway run off the road by a tractor-trailer.
2) a large black sedan almost side-swiping me while I was in the passenger's seat of my parents' car.
3) riding the Texas Giant in 1992 (I don't like roller coasters).
4) my heart almost leaping out of my chest while I walked off a job that I should have quit long before.
5) trying to keep my balance during what was either really strong thunder or an earthquake in Irving.

Most sentimental/thankful moments I've ever had...
1) driving down Highway 22 over Lake Whitney and being overwhelmed by Texas beauty.
2) taking a sip of Dublin Big Red and remembering all the times I spent as a child with my aunt and uncle.
3) saying goodbye to my college roommate after she graduated.
4) trying to fall asleep after my high-school graduation with Can You Feel the Love Tonight in my head.
5) realizing how completely, unabashedly faithful God has been to me (on more than one occasion).

Reflections of the third decade, part VII

The other day as I was enjoying my drive home while listening to Superstar by The Carpenters, it seemed really cool to be able to listen to it on an MP3 disc... and almost 10 years ago, I'd listen to the same song in my car that had the tape deck playing an audio version of my compilation CD... and about 20 years ago, I'd listen to the same song in the backseat of my parents' car with a boombox on my lap playing an audio tape version of my parents' LP record. The song is much nicer without the constant scratchiness in the background and that part at the horn solo where the record needle jumped.

I might sound like a senior citizen when I talk about technology, but it boggles my mind how quickly it can change. We barely even think about it anymore -- we don't have time to because it changes in the blink of an eye! In some ways, that can freak out someone like me who likes to take her time to absorb stuff and enjoy it.

But in other ways, it's exceedingly wonderful. I grew up in a generation that tolerated scratchy records, learned to live with confusing 8-tracks, sat by the radio waiting for favorite songs to play, and constantly hovered around music stores -- searching, waiting, hoping that someday, they'd have that rare and obscure Monkees tape in stock. Now I can either just go on iTunes and download whichever song I want, or I could go on eBay or Amazon and buy whichever rare and obscure album I want. (Well, most of the time. But it's still oh-so-convenient.)

Yes, I was a Monkees fan when I was a preteen. (I think it was an 80s oldie revival thing.) My family was broke, so for a while, the way I'd "download" music was by putting my boombox right up against the speaker of a TV set to record the music video/montage portion of The Monkees show on audio tape. (I think our little black-and-white TV gave off a nice sound, albeit mono.) I don't think I have that tape anymore (hopefully such a recording wasn't illegal back then), but sometimes, one of the songs would breeze into my head and not go away. It had a very nice, folksy-hippyish texture to it, and the only time I remember hearing it was on an episode where they were at a casino. I tried to buy the song online a few years ago, but I couldn't find it. Just this past weekend, I did a tiny bit of Googling, and I guess either search engines are more sophisticated now or more dot-coms have just published more song lyrics, but I found out that it's called The Door Into Summer, from 1967, and I downloaded it from iTunes. (I tried to find a YouTube video link for your enjoyment, but all I could find was a video from a website that I guess is European? Sorry, I can't read it. :)) Yay, technology!

Ah, reverie. One of my most favorite childhood memories was listening to Julio Iglesias on the 8-track player of my (maternal) grandfather's station wagon. Now I've got most of those songs on an MP3 disc in my car. Oh, what a feeling!