HomeAugust 27, 1997
|
Link of the Day: Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society
|
late - with fish vertebraeI'm late. I'm late. I'm late. For a very important date. I've slept through the alarm. Exhausted from folding Purrfect Companions brochures last night, I struggle out of bed and get dressed one handed as the scrivener's palsy hand has gone numb. We've gotta get a letter folding machine. I may be drifting but I'm not idle. I remember the bag of fish vertebrae I've been saving for Roberta since my last plover warden shift, and slip it into my pocket. I grab a banana for breakfast, and suddenly decide to pack my binoculars and bird book for some shorebird watching after litterbox washing. all washing, no waitingRoberta has collected all the dishes from the cages already. All washing. No waiting. Despite my lateness, I manage to finish the dishes before they run out of clean dishes and the litterboxes before they run out of clean litterboxes. I'm cruising along up to my elbows in hot soapy water. At some point I remember to give Roberta the vertebrae. She asks what animal they're from. "You're the biologist. I'm just the beach comber." Maybe there's a field guide to bones that wash up on Plum Island. She wants to know why I didn't bring her the seal carcass that washed up at Sandy Point in April. No way was I gonna risk my life in the rocks at high tide to bring Roberta a seal carcass for her bone collection! She describes in detail how she "cleaned" the flesh off a tuna head and then how you're supposed to do it with maggots... We're short volunteers today. The woman with the Scandinavian accent didn't come in. All F's girl is even later than I am. The other summer kid is here for her last day then she's off to study interior design someplace. Roberta has to leave at 10:45 to pick up her son's soccer team. She says she'll be back later. So it's me and All F's girl. All F's does a good job of playing with the kittens, petting Teddy (he's one mad boy and needs lots of petting to teach him to trust humans), and rotating the keep-ins (that is, the cats that haven't been vaccinated yet - they get their exercise alone in the socialization room - the other just run around the main room). She doesn't lift a finger to do dishes or laundry. She asks if she can change the station on the radio. I say fine. I block it out anyway. And I'm really really tired. the one-eyed pelicanBy the time Roberta comes back I've washed everything except the stuff from the rabies quarantine room. I've sent two of the big litterboxes to the litterbox retirement home (aka the dumpster) because they are so scratched that unsanitary stuff has embedded itself in the plastic and I can't get it clean. I've done three loads of wash - including folding it. I'm ready for a break. Roberta asks me if I know what the refuge staff plans to do with the pelican. The pelican has been hanging out on the refuge at Hellcat swamp for weeks now. It shows no signs of going south or anywhere. Birders by the dozens have been coming by to add it to their lists. I know nothing about it other than seeing it on the white board at the gatehouse when I report for duty. No special knowledge. One of the kids on the soccer team is the son of one of the law enforcement guys on the refuge. Roberta asked him. He didn't know. Like the pelican is a law enforcement problem? I tell her to ask the biological staff, and give her a couple of names. She's certain it won't migrate because it's blind in one eye. I'm not sure why that would prevent it from migrating, but on the other hand it did end up here - far from its usual habitat. She says she'll call the refuge and offer to give the one-eyed pelican a ride to Florida.
|
driftingI lingered for awhile petting Jaguar. He rolled over and purred for me. He never would have done that last year , and certainly not the year before. It takes a long time for Jaguar to develop trust. I've known him more than two years. If I hadn't quit my soulless job to drift idly outside the rat race I never would have gotten to know Jaguar. It has taken so long! I wouldn't have had the patience. I'd never have met Wilbur and taken him home. I'd never have felt the satisfaction of seeing old arthritic nasty Ben find the perfect home, or Lefty, or Juliette, or any of them. And I've gotten to know my nieces on a deeper level than family holiday gatherings. And I've met people I would not have had time for... Tom and Julie, Ned, Dick, both Larry's... I keep wondering where the rewards are. Maybe they've been right in front of me all along. I wonder if Roberta wants an extra driver giving the one-eyed pelican a ride to Florida. |