Fly Away by Tom Castaldi


It was a great day to be off, even though we couldn’t play outside.
I was 7 years old when the big storm hit New York. It was a Thursday a wet and dark Thursday. We had off from school due to the storm.
At that time there were 6 children in our family. We lived on Glenmore Avenue in Brooklyn.
I was the second oldest and the one to keep the others occupied just by my nature. I could make a game out of nothing at all. One memory I have, which by the way, I know my brothers and sisters still remember.
My Grandparents on both my Mothers and Fathers side were some how into the sewing business. There were tons of tape measures around along with pins and thread.

When all the work went away, somehow my mother managed to get the thread from everyone. I being the most resourceful one saw a great opportunity to take advantage of all these treasures.

I decided the thread would make a great spiders web. I went over to the many boxes in the cellar that we inherited. There were a couple that only had sewing thread in them. Inside was a combination of different spool sizes and many colors and thread diameters. I knew I hit the jackpot.

We lived in a four family apartment that was owned by my Father and Mother. There were 3 bedrooms; of course, my mother and father had their own room so that left the Boys bedroom and the Girls room.
Bunk beads in both and another single bed. Me being the second oldest I had the upper level of the bunk bed.

I assembled the team together and made sure everyone had their own spool of thread. We went into my bedroom and instructed them to attach the string anywhere they could find a lashing post. I told them to go to opposite ends of the room and wherever they could wrap or tie the thread around it.

Well, your probably thinking what was his mother doing all this time and what would she say if she knew what was going on? Alls I can say is, She wasn’t worried about the thread for we had more than the armed forces combined. We were all confined in one room and we were out of her hair so it was fine with her.
By the time we finished, there were webs all around us. It was a thing of beauty. We just stared at each other and felt a great sense of pride over what we had created.

My story starts with my walk from home from school the next day. It was a cloudy day but, it had stopped raining. It was close to a mile from home to school. It felt like that anyway. On cold winters days, we were glad to have reached school just to warm up.

Down the block from school was an elevated train. It ran down Fulton street for as far as you could see. In the other direction in about 2 blocks, it turned onto Crescent street. The track assembly was fasten to the sidewalk with these huge steel girders. It was at the base of one of these girders I first saw the pigeon. He looked beat up from the storm and his feathers were still wet and ruffled from the wind and rain.

He was so exhausted I just went over and picked him up. That’s the time I noticed the metal band on his leg. There were some raised letters followed by numbers. I took the bird on that long trek home. Somehow the walk didn’t seem so long. Luckily for me my brother was with me and I managed to talk him into carrying my books.

Once at home I took a cardboard box and made a little cage for him. I put a little saucer of water and some pieces of bread. He just fluffed up and huddled in a corner of the box. I figured He needed the rest so I just watched him for some time. When it was time for me to go to bed I threw a blanket over the top of the box.

When I woke I removed the blanket and that startled him. He seemed to look a little better but you can tell he had a bad experience. The saucer that the water was in was dry. I don’t know if he drank it or tipped the water out.
It was time to get the bird some help.

There was a Pet Shop on Pitkin Avenue that catered to pigeon flyers. I placed the bird in a smaller box and took him to the Pet shop with me. The owners name was Joe. We use to go there sometimes just to look at the birds. It was cheap entertainment in those days. It also kept us out of trouble.

Once there I saw Joe and explained that I had found a bird and I need some advice on how to care for him. Joe grabbed the bird and held its feet between his fingers. He cupped the rest of the bird with his hand and held him in place. He showed me how to do it and passed the bird back to me so I could do it. I had no problem restraining the bird this way and felt very comfortable with it.
Joe took the bird back from me and read the band. He told me it was a good racing homer. Joe faced the band towards me and read off the letters and numbers. He told me the first two letters represented the club and the next set of numbers the birds identification number. He explained that the band was placed on the bird’s leg when it was just a few weeks old. He told me the bird was from a racing Pigeon club in New Jersey. He said it got caught in the storm and lost his way.

He then looked into the bird’s eyes and felt under the bird’s throat. He said the bird hasn’t eaten in a few days. I asked him how he knew that. He took my hand and placed it a few inches below the bird’s throat. He said this is what is called his Crop. When he eats this is where the feed is stored. It is the place where the food is ground up and digestion takes place. He said, “pigeons also eat little particles of sand that helps crush the seeds it eats.”
He also said, “When the bird eats and its full the crop when squeezed will feel like a bean bag.

Joe put the bird in a cage and placed some pigeon feed into the bottom tray of the cage. He said, “It will eat if he’s hungry”. After observing the bird for some time, Joe said, “He needs some antibiotics for a faster recovery. You are also going to have to hand feed him to jump start him.”
He laid a handful of seeds on the counter and told me to sort out all the corn and peas from the pile. He placed all the remaining seed back into an open faced wooden trough behind the counter.

He took the bird in his hand and lay the bird upside down on it’s back to his palm. He picked up a pea seed and with one hand held the bird’s beak open and with the other he dropped the pea into the bird’s mouth. When he let go of the beak the bird automatically swallowed the seed. He said, “that’s one down fifty to go.”

He asked me, “what are you going to do with him.” Then it hit me, I don’t know I told him. He said, if I was able to get the bird back into good shape, I could set him free and he will return to his loft. He also informed me there were no guarantees the bird will recover. Well, I knew the bird would have probably died, I had to give it a try.

He showed me how to feed the bird, I knew I could do it with confidence. He handed me a bag and told me to pick out all the large corn and peas and fill the bag half way. I went behind the counter where the feed was stored. It took quite a few minutes but I managed to complete my task.
He then placed 10 pills on the counter top and said, “This should do it.”
He told me to cut each pill in quarters and mix one chopped up piece of pill into a pint of water every day. He said, after I feed the bird to take an eyedropper and just like the feed hold the bird’s beak open and squirt some of the antibiotic solution down the bird’s throat. He also said to use the rest of the solution in his water bowl. Remember to do this every day for at least two weeks. The bird will be showing signs that it is healthy again.

He reached around to the feed trough and added a scoop of mixed seed to my corn and pea mixture. He said, not to worry, the small seed will go down to the bottom of the bag and it will still be easy to take the large pieces out.
Once the Bird starts eating by him self then you can give him the smaller seed also.

He said, “ Five dollars should cover it.” Wow… I never thought of money.
I felt like a deer in the headlights of a car. He asked, " You do have money, don’t you?" I guess the look on my face answered his question. He caught on immediately and told me to bring the money when I return the cage. I looked up at him and said, that will be fine.

He placed the bird in a metal cage and reminded me to return the cage when I was through with it. He placed the pills in a little bag and I slipped it into my pocket. He handed me the handle of the cage and then placed the bag of feed in my other hand. He asked if I could handle it. I told him I was fine. I thanked him for his help and he said, “ If you need anything else stop by.”

Once at home I went down to the basement. I set up an old table and placed it right by the oil burner so the bird will stay warm. I placed the cage on the table. I slid out the bottom tray and placed newspapers down. I then searched around for something heavy but not too high for the birds water.
I found an old ashtray that fit the bill. It was heavy but not so tall. I drove a nail into the wooden beam and hung an extension light over the cage. Things were starting to work well. The bird just stared at me the whole time I was setting up camp.

I figured I should quarter the pill and get it dissolved in water next. I used a razor blade to half then quarter the pill. I crushed the pill with the back of a screwdriver in a coffee cup. It worked out very well the pill just turned to a powder. To the coffee cup I added about a pint of water and mixed it with the blade of the screwdriver. The water turned a yellowish color and the pill was completely dissolved. My next step was the biggest of all my challenges.

I took the bag of feed and just like Joe said, the smaller seed went to the bottom. I had placed about fifty seeds in a small cup. They consisted of whole corn and peas. I filled the eyedropper with the antibiotic solution and laid it aside.

I removed the bird from the cage and held it just as Joe had shown me. I picked up a pea and with two fingers pried the bird’s beak open. I dropped the pea into the bird’s mouth and let it close. The bird swallowed it immediately. It was a slow tedious process but I knew it had to be done.

Once I managed to get about twenty or so assorted pieces of feed into the bird, I felt the Crop and just like Joe had said, it felt like a beanbag. I then took the dropper and squeezed the solution down the bird’s throat. The bird swallowed the water solution immediately. I continued placing the remaining seed down the bird’s throat. It was getting so much easier the task went much faster. Before long I had emptied the cup of food into the Bird. Its crop was full and I could actually see the bulge beneath its neck. I topped this off with two full dropper fulls of antibiotic water.

I placed the bird into the cage and with the ashtray in place and poured the remaining medicine solution into it. I closed the overhead light and went upstairs. Hopefully the treatment would work and the bird would get better soon.

The next day, Sunday I headed to the basement. It was a relief to see the bird made it through the night. He was looking much better than when I had found him.
He was even pruning himself, which was a good sign.

I knew I had to go through the agonizing process of hand feeding him. I figured before he and I went through the process, I would give it a shot and see if he would eat on his own.

I reached to the bottom of the bag and grabbed a handful of the smaller seed.
There were many large pieces of corn and peas in the mixture also. I opened the cage and put a pile of seeds right in front of him and backed away.

To my surprise he started pecking at the seed and I could see he was managing just fine. I really believe he knew what was coming if he didn’t eat on his own. Before I knew it, the pile was reduced to nothing but newspaper print. I figured this was a good time to fix more antibiotic water solution.

I removed the ashtray and washed it out making ready for a clean supply of water. I noticed right away there was not much of the first solution I made so; he must be drinking on his own. This was another big relief to me. I changed the newspapers in the cage and set up his water bowl with a fresh supply of liquid.

I took an old can and punched two holes near the rim and placed a piece of wire through it. I placed the can in the cage and fastened the wire around some bars of the cage to hold it in place. When this task was completed, I filled it with a mixed assortment of feed. I sat back and watched for a while. The bird went over to the medicated water. He stuck his beak in and chugged down at least five big gulps of water. He was indeed eating and drinking on his own. I really felt he was out of the woods. I figured within a week or so, he would be strong enough to make it back to his home.


Monday morning rolled around and when I woke, I went right down to the basement. There was no feed left in the food cup. Quite a lot was on the basement floor. I had to clean it up for my mother told me if it creates a mess it has to go. The water cup had very little water in it. I was so angry I had to go to school. I felt like faking I was sick so I could stay home. I was so excited to see the bird, I whizzed right past my mother shouting good morning. She knew I wasn’t sick and something inside of me said, “Don’t try.” I did manage to sweep the floor and replace the feed and water. I figured I could change the paper on the bottom of the cage when I returned home.

It was the longest day of school. I was reminded by the teacher to pay attention twice. That was nothing new for me. I loved to daydream. Now I really had something to distract me.
It was real tough sitting in class that day. I started plotting tomorrows sick day. I knew I had to make it good. My mother knew me well, I had to be convincing. I needed to be cunning to fool my mother. With an ingenious plan it could be accomplished.

When I returned home I went right down to the cellar. I flipped on the light and the bird just stared at me. The food was mostly gone and there was a mess on the floor again. This is going to turn into work.

I spent a good 2 hours just watching the bird. This was after I replaced the newspaper; made a solution; and fed him. He seemed to be much more comfortable around me. I could tell he was improving just by the way his feathers were groomed. He had an iraidesant color on his neck. I never noticed that before. He was also so much more alert now. I said to myself, he’s definitely not the bird I caught. It was time for dinner and my homework still had to be taken care of too. Then I thought if I managed to stay home the next day, I could do it then. After more thinking, I better not plan on staying home. My Cousin was in my class and he would bring my homework home to me. Then I may have to do two homework’s in a row. Bad thought so, it looks like the next day I will get to stay home from school would have to be Saturday.


Time was flying by and it’s been a week I had the bird. I replaced antibiotic water solution every day since I found him. The next day I figured I’d head to Joe’s pet shop and let him know what was happening.

As I arrived at Joes, he greeted me immediately with a smile. He asked me how the bird is doing. I told him about all the progress he has made. I assured him everything was fine and he was pleased. He asked, what I was going to do with the bird now. I told him about my plan to keep him for another week and will release him. He thought that was a great idea. As I left, I reminded him that I would return the cage to him next week. As I walked past the shop I looked through the glass window. I noticed he was still smiling and shaking his head. I could tell he liked me and I thought to myself; wow… what a great feeling it was.


Once at home I headed down to the basement. I noticed the bird was putting his head in his water and trying to clean himself. He wanted to bathe himself that in its self was a good thing. I cut the bottom out of an old plastic Spackle bucket. I left it about four inches high. I slid the bottom of the cage out and inserted the make shift bath into the cage and slid the bottom tray under it. It just barely fit but it worked. I took warm water and filled it about three inches deep. The bird went over to it and took a drink. He then hopped into the bath and started splashing around. He eventually layed down on one side in it. He must have stayed in it for a good five minutes. He then hoped out and went to a corner of the cage and was pruning himself. I removed the bath from the cage to give him more room. I set up a droplight close to the cage so the bulb would keep him warm. He moved to where it was the warmest and started to straighten his feathers out. It was really relaxing to watch him. He was feeling very comfortable with me now.

I went upstairs and watched some television. After a couple hours I went back down to check on him and turn out the lights. He was almost completely dry and well groomed. It didn’t look like the same bird I found at all. I made another antibiotic solution and filled his water bowl. I turned out the lights and returned upstairs. I felt really good knowing he was almost back to a healthy state.

Sunday morning was a sunny warm day. I thought I’d move the bird outside so he could see some sunlight. I set up two cinder blocks and placed the cage on top. I filled his water bowl up and also gave him a full cup of seeds. He immediately started eating. In the sunlight I could see how well he looked.
At this rate he would be more that able to get home. I started planning his release. I made a date for Saturday morning. That would give him five more days to rest up.

It was getting dark and I decided to move the bird to the basement. I changed the newspaper and filled his water bowl and also his feed dish. I was sure he really enjoyed his day outside. If he only knew he would be flying home on Saturday.

The week went by slow. Seems that’s what happens when we look forward to doing something special. I made sure he got his daily supply of antibiotics and feed. By mid week he was transformed into a beautiful bird. No telling how long he went without a decent meal before I found him. One thing for sure he would be ready for his flight on Saturday. There was no doubt in my mind he was able to make it home. It was a good feeling knowing I rescued this bird from the jaws of a cat, starvation or even sickness. He had a new lease on life and I was glad to have had such a big part of it.

Friday I sat in school daydreaming of what my plan would be for the next day. I figured the best thing to do was something natural for a homing pigeon. I decided to write a note and tie it to the bird’s band. If all went well, I would know if he made it or not.

It finally came the day of the release. Part of me wants to keep the bird but I feel he would be much happier in his home coop. It was a lot of work taking care of the bird. I am ready for a break at this point in time.

I went to the basement and fed and watered the bird. I want to give him a nice meal before he leaves. After tending to the bird, I took a small piece of paper approximately one inch by three inches. On the paper I wrote the following; my name is Tom Castaldi and I live in Brooklyn. I found this bird a couple weeks ago. He was sick and I took care of him. I also jotted down my telephone number and said when the bird comes home give me a call.

I rolled the paper as tight and as small as I could. I stuck the rolled document in my pocket. I went to the basement and retrieved the bird. The walk to the park was a long one. It is a mile to the park. There were plenty of good open areas where I could let the bird go. He was in great shape and I really felt he would succeed in making it back to his home loft.

I removed the bird from the cage and held it just like Joe had taught me. I retrieved the rolled up note and slipped it in the bird’s band. It was lodged between the bird’s leg and the band. It was a tight fit and I was positive it would not slip out. I held the bird and faced it in the direction of New Jersey and let it go.

The bird seemed to have trouble gaining altitude at first. Within a short span of time, he was flying in a circle around me. He went faster each time he passed me. The circles were getting wider and wider. Before long, he was flying straight in the direction of New Jersey. Within a minute or so, he was out of sight.
I can’t explain the feeling I had watching the bird fly away. I really felt a sense of pride.


I made the long walk home. The cage was much lighter and easier without the bird. I put the cage in the backyard and cleaned it. I figured I should hear something soon.
I wanted to stay close to the telephone in case I got the call. I figured I’d return the cage to Joe in the morning.

I waited and waited for a call but nothing happened that night. I stayed around the house till almost noon the next day. Still no call came. I decided to go and return the cage and what little feed I had left.

I arrived at the pet shop a little after noon. I had the cage and a little bag of feed. Joe greeted me and was pleased I returned the cage. I placed the cleaned cage on his counter along with the bag of feed. He told me to take what was left in the bag and feed the birds in the cages in the back of the store. There were four big cages in the back and there were all kinds of pigeons. I threw a handful in each and went to the front of the store to tell Joe what had happened.

Joe told me the bird most likely made it back home safe. He said, sometimes people don’t want to go out of their way no matter how nice you are to them.
He said, “ You did something very special for the bird, that is what really counts.” It made me feel better and in my mind, I still hoped I would get a call.

I handed him five dollars for the feed and medication. He told me not to worry it was on him. I was thrilled for in those times it took a long time to save that much money.

As I left the pet shop, I passed by the window. As usual I could see Joe shaking his head and smiling. The days and weeks rolled by and I never received a call. I felt a sense of pride knowing I did a good thing. Thinking about it today, I am convinced he made it home.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.06.2012

Alle Rechte vorbehalten