A True Duck Story from San Antonio, Texas

It is strange what is remembered from childhood—a melody of a song, a line from a poem, a character from a children’s book.  I will never forget Nurse Fuzzy Wuzzy from the Uncle Wiggily books which my mother read to us in the car from Ohio to New York for the Holidays. When I was a child we used to sing the following to a John Sousa march: “Oh, be kind to our fine feather friends for a duck may be somebody’s mother. She lives in the ponds and the lake where the weather is always fine.”

So the following story tells the tale of a duck that was somebody’s mother.

Something really cute happened in this week. Michael is an accounting clerk at a downtown Bank and works there in a second story office.  Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck choose the concrete awning outside his window as the unlikely place to build a nest above the sidewalk. The mallard laid ten eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks, and Monday afternoon all of her ten ducklings hatched.

Michael worried all night how the momma duck was going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching. Tuesday morning, Michael watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off.

Office work came to a standstill as everyone gathered to watch.

The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In disbelief Michael watched as the first fuzzy newborn trustingly toddled to the edge  and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below. Michael couldn’t stand to watch this risky effort nine more times! He dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs to the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling, near its mother, was resting in a stupor after the near-fatal fall. Michael stood out of sight under the awning-planter, ready to help.

As the second one took the plunge, Michael jumped forward and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the concrete. Safe and sound, he set it down it by its momma and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from that painful leap. (The momma must have sensed that Michael was trying to help her babies.)

One by one the babies continued to jump. Each time Michael hid under the awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall.  At the scene the busy downtown sidewalk traffic came to a standstill. Time after time, Michael was able to catch the remaining eight and set them by their approving mother.

At this point Michael realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey. They had two full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs and past pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the San Antonio River , site of the famed “River Walk.” The on looking office secretaries and several  San Antonio police officers joined in. An empty copy-paper box was brought to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother’s approval, and loaded them in the container. Michael held the box low enough for the mom to see her Brood. He then slowly navigated through the downtown streets toward the San Antonio River. The mother waddled behind and kept her babies in sight, all the way.

As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping in the river and quacking loudly. At the water’s edge, Michael tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies toward the water and to the waiting mother after their adventurous ride.

All ten darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly to momma. Michael said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the  beaming bank bookkeeper, and proudly quacking.

At last, all present and accounted for: “We’re all together again.  We’re here!  We’re here!”

And here’s a family portrait before they head outward to further adventures …

Like all of us in the big times of our life, they never could have made it alone without lots of helping hands. I think it gives the name of San Antonio ‘s famous “River Walk” a whole new meaning!

I have a lot of catching up to do. This summer is the one year anniversary of the loss of my dear husband Al. My spiritual life has been extremely important to me and it certainly has helped me deal with my loss.

My garden has kept me extremely busy. I will post pictures soon so you can see it.

The most interesting tidbits come across my computer from friends:

LOGIC 101

An interesting letter in the Canadian Shooter Magazine this week, which I quote:

"If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq Theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington , DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period. That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the U.S., than you are in Iraq.“

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington DC

This Is Just Simply … “Brilliant” … And the Present American Way If The Facts Be True.  I thought this series of cartoons so depicted our Government, and not just this Administration. Our Government has been seriously lacking in common sense and fiscal responsibility for quite some time although it seems to be worse now.  “We the people” describes us ; when did it become we the politicians? Who is serving Whom or let’s face it: Who should be serving Whom?   “And this is why we have added over 200,000 new federal employees in the past two years, and no one can explain why we are still in a recession. It’s not a good time to be an ant.” I wish we had more ants employed in our country,  but our government seems to create more bureaucratic jobs instead of worker ant jobs. Unemployment in our country will not be solved anytime soon. We have not saved for a “rainy” day much less a rainy decade. “Our Government at work” is not our government at work, but our Government truly not working at the present time. Our deficit grows; we take care of foreign countries’ infrastructure while our own is falling apart; our industry is no longer industrious; our schools are no longer schooling; our retirement and health no longer guaranteed and we cannot guarantee our own due to job loss, house loss, and hair loss.  What to do? Stop depending on our government for everything and make our own future as we Americans have always done— not afraid of hard work or a job too “demeaning” for our precious self esteem or too “dirty” for our precious hands.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT WITH ALL OF OUR NATION’S CURRENT PROBLEMS,

WE ARE STILL THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!

Sorta tells it like it is… A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am." The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude. "She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican." "I am," replied the man. "How did you know?" " Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me." The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat." "I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?" "Well," said the man, "you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You’ve risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault."

There recently was a death of a 98-year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ‘ulterior motive’. She KNEW what the Nazis’ plans were for the Jews (being German). Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried; and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack (for larger kids). She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants’ noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.   She was caught, and the Nazis broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize.* She was not selected. President Obama won one year before becoming President for his work as a community organizer for ACORN and Al Gore won also— for a slide show on Global Warming.   63 years later In MEMORIAM – 63 YEARS LATER Please read the little cartoon carefully, it’s powerful. Then read the comments at the end. I’m doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you’ll consider doing the same. It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. Remember the  the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated! Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the HOLOCAUST to be ‘a myth’. It’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

~The’LITTLE‘ Things~               As you might remember, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten. Another fellow was alive because it was His turn to bring donuts. One woman was late because her Alarm clock didn’t go off in time. One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike Because of an auto accident. One of them Missed his bus. One spilled food on her clothes and had to take Time to change. One’s Car wouldn’t start. One couldn’t Get a taxi. The one that struck me was the man Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, Took the various means to get to work But before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.. Now when I am Stuck in traffic, Miss an elevator, Turn back to answer a ringing telephone… All the little things that annoy me. I think to myself, This is exactly where God wants me to be At this very moment.. Next time your morning seems to be Going wrong, You can’t seem to find the car keys, You hit every traffic light, Don’t get mad or frustrated; It may be just that God is at work watching over you. May God continue to bless you With all those annoying little things And may you remember their possible purpose. Pass this on to someone else, if you’d like. God’s Love Is Not Dependent On E-Mail or copying and forwarding messages as I have just donel!!  Don’t’ you think this is a Great Message? Meredith (that’s the cool part) AMEN

Will I Live to see 80? Here’s something to think about. I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing ‘fairly well’ for my age. (I just turned sixty-something.) A little concerned about that comment, I couldn’t resist asking him, ‘Do you think I’ll live to be 80?’ He asked, ‘Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer, wine or hard liquor? Oh no,’ I replied.  ‘I’m not doing drugs, either!’ Then he asked, ‘Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs? I said, ‘Not much… My former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!’ ‘Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing Golf, boating, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?’ ‘No, I don’t,’ I said. He asked, ‘Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have lots of sex?’ ‘No,’ I said… He looked at me and said,..  ‘Then, why do you even give a shit?’

It is never, ever easy to lose one of our beloved Cavaliers, or any pet for that matter.  Colleen was a wonderful older Cavalier who found a wonderful family to love her as much as I loved her. My late husband Al (oh, I hate that word “late” in this context) have always believed that every Cavalier deserves its own pillow and there are just not enough pillows to go around at our home. Al and I have always tried to do what we felt was best for our dogs which often meant their own special pillow in their own special homes.

There is a certain joy in adopting an older Cavalier or an older dog of another breed. The shelters are full of older dogs who need one more chance for a life well lived.  Dr. Mark Harris of Annehurst Vet Hospital in Westerville, Ohio, just sent the Annehurst rescue team to Missouri to bring back twenty six rescued dogs and cats from the flood waters.  The clinic needs to place them before the team can head to Joplin to help with the homeless pets there. The clinics number is 614 882 4728. Ask for Leslie if you wish to make a donation or to offer to share your home with a special pet. Tell her that I sent you.

I am not sharing the following email to feature Rattlebridge or myself but to point out the joy in adopting and sharing your life with an mature dog. There are many other breeders who care as much as I do and would be willing to fill your lives with joy. M

From one of our Rattlebridge Extended Families:

Dear Meredith, I am writing this to you today with very sad news. We lost our little doggie, Colleen, very unexpectedly to heart failure very early Saturday morning. She was under cardiology treatment for 2 years, but I still didn’t know this would come so soon. She was almost 12. She was the absolute light of our life and I am thanking you for that. You knew Colleen needed a home like ours when Rich came to visit you that day. When he brought her home in the car to surprise me, I had no idea she would mean the world to me. That little dog, with her big heart and huge eyes, filled a space in my heart that was left empty by the loss of my parents. Unfortunately, we both have experienced terrible losses in our lives.

We have always called Colleen the perfect dog, she never left messes, she never left our laps. Colleen was the snuggliest dog I have ever had and i am missing her terribly right now. Our home is so quiet and my lap is empty. I miss hearing her snorts and snores coming from the other room. I miss her climbing on my lab while i was reading letting me know she was the important one at the moment and needed some scratches. I miss her climbing on the back of our sofa, watching us leave through the window and controlling the neighborhood from her spot. I can’t stop crying for her and I know she wouldn’t want me to be so sad. I just want her back. I want to watch her chase butterflies through the yard and snuggle my face once more. So thank you for giving us such joy with Colleen. We loved her so much, that now we are feeling the loss. I have attached two photos of her for you. The one of her looking out the window, that was her favorite spot watching the birds in the fountain. That was taken the day she passed. She looked happy, not sick.

 

Once again, Meredith, Thank you for filling our hearts with joy. Colleen was so special to us. I just want you to know how much you mean to us, because it is through you that we get to experience something so special. I just want you to know that. Thank you!