White Pigeon Found - What to Do?

The first thing I do when I wake up early in the morning is go downstairs and turn on my fancy, shmancy espresso machine (we at Fair View are very serious about our espresso) to warm it up and get it ready to go,

and feed the official Fair View guard dogs, Laila (German Shepherd Dog) and Jenny (German Shepherd / Belgian Malinois mix). Here they are pictured helping us move stuff. Don't they look helpful?

Laila is in the background, Jenny in the foreground

Then I go out with the mutts for a short walk around the property.

This particular morning, Jenny rushed ahead down the dirt drive and grabbed a white pigeon from the driveway. It fluttered and protested and lost some feathers, but I commanded her to drop it and thankfully she did.

Don't hurt the boidie Jenny!!!

The bird hopped around the yard a bit, but did not seem able to fly. I was able to walk right up to it and grab it around the shoulders and wings, so that it could not fly away. It was so docile in my hands and gave me a look that said, “I just want to go home.” Or maybe that is just what I was projecting it was thinking. It was obviously somebody’s pet. I flipped it over and sure enough, it was banded on both legs. The red band on its right leg said, “2006 0026 AU NB”. So, I brought it into the house and put it into a cardboard box with a bowl of water. It went right for the water without hesitation.

I called animal control and spoke with an operator who took all of the information and said that they would page the officer. Time went by and animal control did not call back.

Sean got up and called the Humane Society. They said that it was probably a racing pigeon and gave him a number for someone who would take the bird locally. I called them and they said that they no longer offered that service.

I called the local pet store when they opened and the kindly owner gave me the number of a local man who owns racing pigeons. She said that he could take the bird, rest it for a couple of days and then release it to fly home. Alternatively, she knew someone who had a racing pigeon as a pet in a barn and would love to have another.

Sean called the Department of Environmental Protection and they used the band numbers and found the owner’s name and phone number. They advised that we rest and feed the bird for a few days and then release it to fly back to its owner.

Meanwhile, I walked to the local pet store and bought a 5 lb bag of pigeon feed.

I had transferred the bird to a cat carrier with its water. The minute I put the food in, the bird started feeding. It must have been hungry. It turns out that we are in the middle of a race corridor for pigeons. We googled, “What do I do if I find a lost pigeon?” and came up with the American Racing Pigeon Union site. There, we could have looked up the band numbers ourselves to find the owner and there were instructions on how to take care of the bird prior to release.

Since we were not really interested in caring for a bird and did not know what we were doing, we decided to call the local man who owns racing pigeons. I called him and he agreed to come and get the bird. He asked, “What are you feeding it?”

I replied, “Pigeon food.”

He said, “Oh.”

I said, “What do you feed your birds?”

“Racing mix.”

Well, excuse me, I thought to myself. I gave him directions and a half an hour later he showed up to get the bird. He turned out to be a really nice guy, any racing mix remarks aside. He quickly examined the bird’s wings and tail, and all primary flight feathers were present. He then opened the bird’s mouth and said that the bird had a slight respiratory infection and that was probably why it wasn’t able to finish the race. It would need at least a week of rest before release. He said that he used to race white birds but he lost too many to small hawks. I noted that we have Cooper’s Hawks nesting in our yard and he remarked that this bird was damn lucky.

A Cooper's Hawk

He said that he had some friends that were getting married and wanted to do a white dove release so he was going to get some white birds for that.

He put the bird in the little box he had brought and left. I was relieved to see the bird go and glad that it would be taken care of properly by someone who knew what they were doing. The whole lost bird thing took all day to resolve but now we know what to do if we find a lost pigeon AND so do you!

Animal Control called much later that evening to say that they considered pigeons to be wildlife and would not be showing up. I thanked them for getting back to me and told them how the problem had been resolved.

Fair View Welcomes New Links!

Today's new links are:

NarcissusAU

Synthetic Ego is a blog written by NarcissusAu, who is a competitive bodybuilder and successful entrepreneur. He also happens to like hot sex with other musclemen. NarcissusAU modernized his dad's business into a global corporation and now wishes to live a totally "out" life style. Join him on his journey as he merges his two worlds and visits the US. Adults only please.

Stratis

Mutiny on the Bounty is written by Stratis and designed to make you love all things Greek, which is not really all that difficult when it is notably a beautiful place to begin with. There is the landscape and that includes the beaches

Myrtos Beach

and also the men.

Yummy Greek Man

Ah, yes Greece. A place I just must go sometime soon.

Enjoy the new blogs!

Friday Fantasy - Time to Close Up the Pool

It is that time of year to close up the heated swimming pool for the season. Some leaves have begun to fall and are floating on top of or have sunk to the bottom of the pool. Out to the pool house I go to get the pool cover and net to scoop out the leaves. On rare occasions, one will find a creature trapped in the water like a frog or a snake; once I found a really pissed off opossum.

Look at what I found in the pool this morning:



Isn't he cute? He probably went in there to stay warm. I'm not sure what to do with him after I pull him out of there. He looks so helpless. Of course I'll have to dry him off, but then what? Poor thing; I think he is quite chilled. It was kind of cold last night. I'll probably have to warm him up somehow. Any suggestions?

Photo credit: Alex

Bookfield, Six Flags

One afternoon in bed, Evan said that he wanted to take me to Six Flags. I was stoked about it. But he asked me to stay in bed while he got up and moved around the room. He produced a small mechanical device, some pot and some cigarette papers.

“Ever tried pot?” he asked.

“No. Lots of people use it in school, but it was never offered to me. This would be my first time.”

“Cool.” He smiled, rolled a perfect joint using the mechanical cigarette roller, lit it, took a toke, and offered it to me. He said, “Pot smoke expands in your lungs, so don’t inhale too deeply.”

I inhaled, and he was right. I had to cough some out. I passed the joint back to him and he took another toke and passed it back to me. This time I was more careful. When we had smoked the whole thing, he asked me how I felt. I just felt really good. Happy; carefree.

He had borrowed a car from a friend so that we could drive there without being on his bike. It took about an hour and a half to get there.

First we went on the parachute ride where you are strapped into a seat alone and they raise you up really high, slowly and then drop you really fast as if you are sky diving. It was the most tremendous rush. More so I suppose because I was high to begin with.

Then we took a ride on the roller coaster. This one went up-side-down in one spot. Evan told me that the best way to experience it when high is to hold your hands up when you are up-side-down. He was right. It was another tremendous rush. I just don’t know any other way to describe it. I felt weightless for a moment. I never had so much fun on a roller coaster.

Then we stopped and lit up another joint in a spot where we were unlikely to get caught. After we finished it we took on the House of Fright.

It was really dark in there and scary things popped out of corners. He found a secluded corner and we made out. Like teenagers, we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. We were stopped by someone who came out of nowhere and asked us to knock it off. I guess we weren’t the first ones to have that idea.

Next we went on a ride for children where we got into little boats shaped like swans or ducks that were tugged around an indoor water course. It was really dark in there. Some cute music or other played, while little figurines danced. We sat next to each other in the boat and kissed the whole time we were in there. We both got pretty excited.

The whole Six Flags experience was a high for both of us though I didn’t think they would use this story in their ads. It was a perfect introduction into the world of pot. We had to leave around nine to get me home in time. The ride home was sad for me. I just wanted to stay with Evan forever. But, I only had a couple more weeks to be there. Oh well, that was still a long way off from now.

After a while of driving, Evan turned to me and said, “Sue, I need to pull over to rest. I worry that I will fall asleep at the wheel again.”

I sure didn’t want to argue with him since he already had wrecked his truck, and I sure couldn’t drive. So we pulled over. He put his head in my lap and slept for maybe an hour before he began screaming in his sleep again. I woke him gently and he really freaked out when he saw he was waking in a vehicle. It took me some time to assure him that everything was okay. Then we drove on to my place. We kissed good bye and parted ways. I hated that we could not spend the night together after such a great day.

A Note to Fair View Readers

Fair View has been switched to the Beta format (Thanks Blogger!!!) and all posts have been catagorized. This means that if you wanted to read all of the Friday Fantasies, you would only have to search for Friday Fantasy in the little white box on the upper left hand corner, OR click on the label "Friday Fantasy" at the bottom of one of the posts. The downside of using the search tool is that you will also get key words searched found in other posts that include the words, "friday" or "fantasy". The upside is that this blog is now fully searchable. Type in any word in the little box and hit search this blog and all of the posts containing that word will materialize. MAGIC.

Or, if you wanted to read all of Bookfield, you could click on that label on the bottom of a Bookfield post. One downside I have found is that there is a limit to how much text the computer will show at one time, so you will not be able to see all of the book at once. If anybody can help me figure out a way around that one, let me know.

You can find out all about my health issues by going to April, finding any post titled, "Brush with Death", and clicking on "Health" at the bottom.

If you prefer to read about my Travels, find a trip you like a hit the label for that trip. If you are partial to Local Events or Small Town News, likewise. Or, you can find out about my "First Brush with Gay Life", by searching for "Gay Life".

I'm dizzy with all these options. My head feels like it will spin off my body and I have to hold it on! Help me Fair View Sue.

Photo credit: Stratis

Spirit Journey & Manatees - Part 5

“Sue come out and see the manatees!!!”

At least that’s what I think Sean said. It was kind of hard to tell, since I had just had this vivid spirit journey dream thing. I looked at the clock; I had slept a couple of hours. Already wearing shorts and a tee shirt, I clambered out of bed and found my sandals and shakily made my way down to the pier. I was still a bit dizzy from the codeine.

A small crowd of tourists were gathered to see the manatees and there was somewhat of a commotion at the hotel pier adjacent to ours. Hotel employees there were arriving with cut up apples to feed to the manatees but, no one was taking them. They were all too shy, I guess. Before I could even see the huge aquatic mammals, I took a handful of the apples and approached the water.

I could not believe my eyes. There they were. They were huge! They were not shy at all, as they came right up to the steps of the dock to be petted, rub themselves on the wood, and be fed. I placed my hand in the water with an apple piece and a manatee gently took it with its lips and ate it. They ate all of the apples in no time.
Then I petted them, by standing in the water on the steps up to my thighs and putting my arms in the water all the way until my tee shirt sleeves got wet. Their bodies brushed against my legs and felt so rough but soft at the same time, and the hairs or whiskers were stiff. They could have easily knocked me off the steps, but did not. They really liked to be scratched hard on their backs like you would on a dog. Did I mention that they were large? There was a baby one and two adults.

Sean had run off to get his snorkel gear so he could take photos and he was already in the water with them. After the feeding they moved to the Hungry Pelican’s dock to feed on the sea grass there.
I watched nervously as Sean swam in between them. He looked so tiny. It was like a manatee, Sean, manatee sandwich. Sean later said that they could have squeezed him like a grape, but did not. When they had eaten all of the grass, they swam westward, towards the canals. Sean got out of the water. Everyone was excited and talking about it.

I suddenly wanted to go back to bed. I staggered back to the room and fell back into my bed. I slept until nightfall. When I awoke, it was dark outside and I wondered, “Was it all a narcotic induced dream? A dream of spirit journey and manatees?”

Mark is the Winner & New Link

Let's all congratulate Mark, who found me very speedily; must be he has an eye for sexy blogger bodies. As promised, here is my review of his blog, Sexy Gay Blogger of the Day.

I just love Mark's blog. I had to read the whole thing in one sitting as it is just that much fun. He shows a photo of the blogger, names the blog(s), writes a creative and very complimentary fantasy about himself and the blogger, and lists the vital statistics of the blogger. My favorite thing is reading the fantasies for bloggers that I am familiar with. For example: Alex, Jared, Stratis, and Brenton. Also, I "met" lots of sexy gay bloggers that I had previously not known about. Mark only started blogging in July 2006. So go check out his blog and see if there is anybody you know featured already or you can nominate someone to be a sexy gay blogger of the day. It's easy. The instructions are right here. As Mark says at the end of each post:

Keep on blogging Mark - I can't get enough of you!

I have also linked him on my side bar.

Friday Fantasy - Bedtime Story

This story is dedicated to Paul.

My company sent me to Los Angeles for a month to collect data from an AIDS clinical trial performed at a large city hospital. Since I was to be away from home for such a long time, I insisted to be allowed to stay at the Loews Santa Monica which is right on the beach and has views of the Santa Monica Pier. I rented a car and checked into the hotel. I was very pleased with my room and that was a good thing, since I would be there for a month. The hotel itself was spectacular.

I especially loved the hot tub behind the pool that looked out over the pacific.

I managed to pack everything I needed in my trusty Ixspa bag. All of the clothes I brought were washable. I brought four silk skirts (slit up the sides to the thigh), four knit tees, two jackets, and a pair of Joan & David shoes. I wore a pair of jeans, a sweater and sneakers. Everything fit into the bag with room to spare so that I could shop. I love a good plan.

I drove to the hospital on the first day and met with the clinical staff. I met Dr. Vishnu, his study coordinator, Bing, a Filipino, his nurses, Becky and Jeannie, another Filipino. Dr. Vishnu was tall and distinguished looking, with salt and pepper hair and a goatee. Bing was short, well dressed and neat and seemed compulsive enough to be a great worker and study coordinator. Later in the month I tried to recruit him, but he didn’t want to leave LA.

Becky was a diligent nurse but tended to be a bit emotional at times. Jeannie was smart, but a total flake. I didn’t feel she was very trustworthy. The two nurses worked well together and were a tight team, for better or worse. We all shook hands and smiled at each other. Introductions over, Dr. Vishnu left me with Bing and we went to the conference room where I would be working.

When we arrived, I met Jeannie’s younger brother, Jay, who had just brought over the clinic charts on a rolling luggage cart. Jay was about five feet eight inches tall, extremely handsome, with waist length black hair. He was wearing loose bib overalls with a faded red tee shirt and a sheen of sweat coated his beautiful light coffee colored silky skin. I just wanted to lick it off of him. I was tempted to peer down and see what he was or wasn’t wearing under those overalls. His hands were clean and the bone structure was just so hot. You know how some times a certain bone structure can just be a turn on? I pictured that hair cascading all over us as we made…

Devastatingly handsome yes, but picture him with waistlong hair...

Back to reality. I was in the conference room, looking at all of the work I had to do. There were three sets of charts for each patient: the clinic chart, the hospital chart and the study chart. Jay was there to bring over the clinic and study charts from the other building where patients were seen. He helped unpack and match the two charts with the hospital chart for each patient. I watch his hair as it flowed over his body. How was I ever going to concentrate enough to work? But, somehow I did.

I had had the case report forms shipped to the site ahead of time, so that I would not have to carry them with me. I took the first one and began to complete it for the first patient. Man it was slow going. After a few patients and days had gone by, I likened the process to pushing a pile of mud with a toothpick; it was that painstaking. I was working five days a week and then asked if I could bring charts back to my hotel with me on the weekend. Turns out I could bring the clinic and study charts home, but not the hospital charts, so I did. When the case report forms were completed, I packed them to be airmailed home.

Over time, I found out that Jay worked at the hospital part time and played for a band the rest of the time. He also mixed soundtracks.

In between working, I did some shopping. I bought some traditional jade beads

, a silk shirt, a white leather jacket

and Diesel jeans. I found some nice restaurants including a sushi place, and a Thai place. I enjoyed the hot tub almost every night. So much so, that the back of my hair at the nape of my neck bleached almost entirely white. On Sundays, I would walk up and down the boardwalk on the beach and people watch. The whole time was quite nice. Hard work, hard play; only one thing was missing.

About three weeks into my stay, the study staff was talking about having a get together to celebrate Dr. Vishnu’s birthday at a restaurant near my hotel. They invited me! Finally, a place to wear my new Diesel jeans and white leather jacket.

The restaurant was only a short walk away, in the pedestrian mall close by. Upon entering, I quickly spotted my group and joined them. He was there. Everyone was in a happy and celebratory mood, but all I could focus on was Jay. We sat across from each other, but we locked gazes many times during the evening. Toasts were made to Dr. Vishnu, and the staff got pretty drunk. I was pretty tipsy too. After our meal and drinks, Dr. Vishnu stood and said that he had to get home to his wife and family and Bing and the nurses also stood to go. Jay stood and looked right at me and offered to walk me back to my hotel. I said that sounded okay to me. (Who said that chivalry was dead?) Every one said goodnight and we all left. Jay and I waited for the others to leave.

Once we were outside and alone, he reached out and touched my face gently saying, “I really like you. If you lived here I would ask you out on a date.”

“I am so flattered, Jay. I like you too.” I replied.

With that he drew me to him and kissed me with his oh so soft lips. Then, he parted them so that his tongue could push its way into my mouth. I shuddered a bit and moaned involuntarily, as I wanted him so badly that I could not hide it. He pressed his body against mine, his hands on my shoulders. I put my hands on his waist and if was as if I completed a circuit. He lifted his head and put it beside mine and whispered into my ear, “We should find some place more private, don’t you think?”

I could not believe it as I led him to my hotel. When we got to my room, I slid the entry card into the door and we went in. Once the door closed behind us, he looked at me and said, “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh, yes.”

He looked so beautiful. There was fire in his eyes and his hair shone as if polished. He took my hands and pressed me against the door. His mouth was on mine and so was his groin. I could feel his chest against mine and I could feel his nipples pressing, oh god it was so hot to feel his whole body on mine! He began to undress me. First the leather jacket came off, then the shoes and jeans. He had lost his pants some how and now he was hard and ready. He donned a condom. I had never seen an Asian man’s body naked before, he was hairless, except for the pubes. Very hot. He took off his shirt in one swift move and his musculature showed that he’d spent some time in the gym. I just wanted to inhale every molecule of him. I put my hands on his strong shoulders and lifted myself up so that he could enter me standing. We had never left the door; that’s where we made love. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pumped himself into me. I lost myself to the feeling of it. My head rolled back and my eyes closed. His breathing quickened. We were both close. I came first and my spasms brought him too. He came with a groan and said, “Oh god!”

We slowly slumped to the floor. His head fell forward over my shoulder, pooling that delicious hair over me and he said, “That was wonderful. Are you okay?”

“My god, yes. Maybe we should move to the bed.”

We untangled, cleaned up a bit, and moved to the bed. There is nothing better than clean white sheets and your lover. We opened the sliding glass doors to hear the night noises of the Santa Monica Pier. We lay there holding each other. He held me tight and I fondled and stroked his lovely skin and hair. It was all so novel to me, since I had never been with an Asian. Even the color of his nipples was different. I began to play with them and they became erect. Then, I kissed one and he squirmed a bit. I giggled mischievously and looked up at him. He raised an eyebrow as if asking, what are you up to now? So, I worked my way down his body as he writhed with pleasure. He was erect down there too. So, I took the head into my mouth and tasted its delicious smooth texture. I ran my tongue up the crease on the underside eliciting a moan from him. Then, I went down on him all the way while I gently tugged on his balls. I could feel his legs flexing, the way a man does when this is done to him. He groaned in ecstasy. I repeated this until he demanded I stop because he wanted to make love again. I heard another condom snap on. I have never been flipped onto my back so quickly and entered so fast in my life. It made me catch my breath. He was onto me, holding me down by my wrists, fucking me gently but firmly, and kissing my breasts, his hair cascading over our bodies. My breathing quickened to match his as I wrapped my legs around him. This time, we both came simultaneously. We were rewarded for our efforts by a blissful sleep. Thank god tomorrow was Saturday and we had no place to be.

I completed my assignment on time and I continued to see Jay. Actually the whole project was a complete success and we got the drug approved. But, I still kind of miss Jay.

Who is Fair View Sue (Winner Announced) & Thanks to Brenton

HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
BRENTON!!!














First I would like to thank Brenton for featuring me in a post of my very own! Don't you think that is sweet of him? I do! He is to die for cute too. Seen any of his half nekkid Thursdays? They are yummielicious.


Secondly, you may wonder, just who is this Fair View Sue? What does she look like? While in general I wish to remain anonymous, I chose my screen identity because it might as well be me. I found the photo on google and my twin sister, Evie, thought that it was me in one of my Speedos doing my synchronized swimming. I guess you could say that if it was good enough to fool my very own twin, it looks a lot like me.

But, there is one actual photo of me on this very blog. So, if you find it, let me know the date or title of the post, and what I am doing in the photo. In return, I will post your name and about you (if you are a blogger) and repost the photo.

Now, Brenton, no fair - you already know. Sneak. Got me to tell when you were secretly preparing your post. You can't play (this game that is!).

******************************

And the winner is Mark. Congratulations Mark! See the post about his blog on Sunday.


Yup. This is me feeding a southern stingray off of the Cayman Islands. As you can see, it is a good sized beast whose wing span had to be at least six feet. That is why I was so surprized that Steve Irwin was killed by one of these gentle giants.

Bookfield, Chris - Part 2

That night, when I came home and went upstairs to our apartment, Mary and Chris were busily rinsing something out in the sink of our kitchenette. I tried to get a closer look, but they purposefully blocked my view. Chris looked pale and frightened. When I finally got closer, I could see that they were rinsing out bloody, torn jeans and a tee shirt. Then I noticed a small stitched cut on Chris’ face.

“Okay, guys. Tell me what happened.”

“It will ruin your sales.” insisted Mary hastily.

“Fuck the sales. I come home and you guys are rinsing out torn up, bloody clothes that look beyond saving. It would ruin my sales even worse if you didn’t tell me and I was left to worry.”

Chris hesitantly told me what had happened to her. She was selling in a nice neighborhood and was approaching the walk up to a house, when the owner released three smallish dogs on her (that from her description of them must have been pit bulls). They ran down the walk, without barking and attacked her on the side walk. She tried to keep her feet, but they pulled her down to the concrete. Getting pulled down when facing dogs is very bad.

She managed to protect her throat or they could have killed her, but they literally tore her up. Her arms, legs, ass, back and chest everything was bitten and slashed. The neighbors pulled the dogs off of her and rushed her to the hospital. She needed literally hundreds of stitches to sew her up. Her lovely body would be disfigured permanently. I looked more closely and she was shaking with the telling of it. Fresh tears splashed down her cheeks and she wiped them away with a tissue that Mary handed to her. I tried to give her a hug, but she was tentative and in pain.

I was really angry about what had happened to her. “Those dogs should be put down.” I said.

“I’ve decided to do nothing about it. Jesus said that we should turn the other cheek.”

I had forgotten that my roomies were religious freaks; excuse me, born again Christians. “Okay, but just stop a minute and think that you could sue him and get enough to pay for your college tuition.”

“It’s against the bible’s teachings to strike back in any way.” Mary nodded in agreement.

“Okay. But you see the money could go for a good cause, your education. See how you feel tomorrow, or the next day. Maybe sometime you will decide to do it.”

She agreed to think about it, but to my knowledge, she never took action. What a great legal case she had. She was attacked on public property without provocation, for Christ’s sake. I hated the thought of her being so disfigured at such an early age, especially when she had such great looks to begin with. Having to look at those scars forever and handle the knowledge that the dogs were allowed to live, and that there was no remediation for this horrible crime. Also, I thought that free education was pretty attractive too, at least in my situation. It would also seem to restore balance, at least to me. But, it wasn’t my body, or my life.

Chris was really stiff the next couple of mornings and stayed home for a few days. I’m not sure I could ever go out again if I were her. She had to have been afraid for her life during the attack. As it was, I was wary of all dogs just from my experiences.

Small Town News - Walgreens Wrap Up

Previously on Small Town News

Land Swap Petition

Background

In 2004, our town voted to give the selectmen the power to swap the parcel of land owned by the town for the parcel that was adjacent to the town hall. This was accomplished in conjunction with the then owners of that parcel. So, looking at the town map, the town owns the piece that the Walgreens would be built on, and would then swap it for the piece that would become the parking for Walgreens. Walgreens would then have an easement on the property. In addition, the town would receive $100,000.

Possible Contentions

Pro Land Swap:

1. It has already been approved.
2. The value of the completed parking lot is $484,000 compared to the current property value of $280,000. Most of the parking can be used as municipal parking.
3. Assures the town gets a pharmacy.
4. Town hall will not be harmed.
5. The town gets $100,000.

Anti Land Swap:

1. Why is the rewording of the land swap contract not available to the public prior to the vote?
2. Is it true that Turnpike Properties has threatened to sue the town if the land swap is voted down?
3. Has the town ever dealt with Walgreens directly or come to know their requirements?
4. Walgreens would have to maintain the parking lot for their operation anyhow, so it is not an outright financial benefit for the town. Also, the number of parking spaces is required for their business, and cannot be deemed municipal parking.
5. The land swap is a major subsidy for this business to come into town.
6. The town wants more control over the land swap.

Land Swap Town Meeting

A town meeting was called by the selectmen to discuss the land swap. It was run by Joe, our first selectman, and he was assisted by our town lawyer. About 90 citizens attended. They reviewed the basics of the swap (see bullet points above) and explained that no contract was available because it took so long to get feedback from the concerned parties and they didn’t want opinions on drafts circulating (read: gossip). The town lawyer said that she did not think that Turnpike Properties would sue the town.

The meeting quickly devolved into a “what is wrong with our town” discussion.

One of the citizens’ group’s members stood and said that her Elm Street house’s value had dropped by 20% just since the approval of the Cumberland Farms and Walgreens Pharmacy projects. Joe looked her in the eye sympathetically, and said, “Tell me what you want me to do.”

She replied, “I want you to promise me that you will accept a more historically sensitive design from a team of objective architects.” (In other words, not these trouble maker ones we have in town.)

Joe looked tired and beaten, but he agreed in public to go along.

He fell right into our plan. But, the vote was scheduled in just two weeks time. We had to work quickly to make it all happen.

Walgreens Redesign

As part of three meetings, a small group of three out of town architects, working pro bono and led by the citizens’ group retiree, came up with the following suggestions and a drawing based on another pharmacy in our state:

1. The Corner/Entry Element could be inspired by the Southbury Model, and, especially, the corner element at the Elementary School.
2. Incorporating some brick helps to gravitate away from a residential appearance. We recommend the Entry Elements + Arcades be brick. (The brick should be standard size, preferably molded and a color different from the Town Hall.) The main body of the building could be painted brick (like the back of Liberty Bank) or Handiplank.
3. The Entry Element should be an open pavilion for its full height. (Its position should be as shown on the plan, NOT at 45 deg angle as the Southbury Model)
4. A simple but significant cornice might be used to finish the top of the wall.
5. We recommend that brick paving (to match the brick at Adam’s Shopping Center sitting area) extend under the Arcade and out to meet the sidewalk.
6. Lowering the slope of the roofed element over the Arcade to 3 or 4:12 and lowering the bottom of the eave to 10’ will aid the proportions and scale.
7. We suggest a bulletin board in a niche centered on the southernmost arcade termination Pavilion.
8. Recommend deleting the sloped roof on the canopy at the Drive Through. We assume that the canopy cantilever will be reduced with only (1) drive through.
9. On the North Façade, locate the terminating Pavilion centered on the doors. Delete the Arcade beyond the Pavilion.
10. The color scheme should contrast with that of the Adams complex.
11. We suggest that signage be mounted on wood panels.
12. 

Southbury Model

Old design (top) / New design (bottom), click to enlarge

This redesign was forwarded to the Turnpike properties architect and Joe prior to the land swap vote. Word was that Turnpike Properties indicated that the plan was doable and they would present the changes to the Planning & Zoning in the fall.

The Land Swap Vote

It rained the day of the land swap vote. I decided to vote against the swap because I am just so tired of all of the bullshit in our town. The planned ugly new development, unsafe new gas stations, our stupid P&Z, our first selectman who jerks us around and after 17 years just needs to go. I have just had enough. Plus, I think the town would do much better to just sell the land and take the cash. So, I voted against the swap. The remainder of our citizens’ group was to take the stance that since Turnpike Properties had accepted our design; we were going to vote for the swap. “A win-win for the town.” Yippee!

Sadly, I was in the minority. Of the 700 or so people voting, it was about 3 to 1 in favor of the swap. The elderly turned out in droves to support getting a pharmacy in town. So, I guess we are getting a new pharmacy. It remains to be seen what it will look like. Will it be brick and look like the redesign? Or will it look like the crappy Adams across the street?

The Press

Meanwhile, our citizens’ group has suffered in the press, especially in editorials. To wit:

Concern Growing in Town

To the Editor:

Sean Fairview and the citizens’ group is leading the townspeople down a long slippery slope. The petition to hold another vote on the approved land swap filed by this small group of 20 people indicates that they believe their vision of our town is preferable to those of us who voted and passed the land swap by a margin of 2-1 over a year and a half ago…

It then continues in that venomous attacking tone about how we are spending their tax dollars, causing Turnpike Properties to sue, and all that jazz. Moreover, the attack is personal. By the way, it was written by the husband of the P&Z zoning enforcement officer. We do live in a small town. After that editorial came out, a response was written reiterating how the group’s goals are the same as the town’s, signed by myself and others, and Sean was retired from the forefront for a while so others from our group could take the heat.

Spirit Journey & Manatees - Part 4

The next day I awoke disoriented and feverish. My head was so congested it felt as if it was encased in concrete. It was sunrise. I realized I was at the Hungry Pelican Motel.

I dressed and went outside through the screen door of our patio. The view of the Gulf of Mexico was truly beautiful as I walked towards the dock.

I was met on the sand by a very bold snowy egret coming towards me purposefully. He eyed me as if he expected something from me. What he wanted, I did not have a clue. As I walked past him warily, they do have big sharp beaks; he turned and followed me to the office. The stocky owner, who looked about retirement age, was up and putting out coffee for the motel guests.

He looked up and said, “Oh don’t mind that egret, he just wants his breakfast and it isn’t time yet. Birds get fed after humans even though I prefer their company many times. No offense.” Then he chuckled.

I had to agree, so I did. I helped myself to some coffee and asked if there was a local doctor that would see tourists as I was feeling a bit under the weather. He said that there was and gave me a card for a clinic down the street as he looked at me sympathetically.

“Well you couldn’t have chosen a better place to recover than right here at the Hungry Pelican! Sunshine, sand, water and sometimes we have manatees!”

“Really?”, I asked.

“Yup.”

“How will I know if they are here?”

“There will be so much commotion, you won’t be able to miss it honey.”

With that, I grabbed a Styrofoam cup of coffee for Sean, and headed back to our suite. Sean loves to be awakened with the aroma of coffee under his nose. So that is what I did. After he was up, we called the clinic and made an early appointment for me.

When the time came, we drove the caddy there. There were plenty of Hispanic locals waiting, but we were taken right in. The doctor was also of Hispanic origin. He looked me over and concluded that I had sinusitis and the beginnings of bronchitis. He prescribed antibiotics, a decongestant, and a cough syrup with codeine. He advised me not to dive until my sinuses were completely clear again. I assured him that I was not planning on diving at all. He also said that I had really worn myself out and that I needed a few days of bed rest. Good thing I am on vacation, I thought. We filled the prescriptions and headed back to the Hungry Pelican. In retrospect, I could swear that the pharmacist gave me a sideways look when he filled the cough syrup prescription, but maybe it was just me.

I took all of my prescriptions and fell into a deep narcotic induced sleep.

I dreamed that my spirit arose from my body. It was transformed into a great bird. An eagle.

I spread my golden wings wide and soared way high up into the sky, until I could see the whole world. Then it swooped down from the mountain top

towards the river valley.

I followed the river down the valley, swooshing with every curve and bend of the river past the tall pines and aspens, making them shiver. Then, suddenly I plunged into the ice cold river and became a powerful fish.

I swam with the current building great speed and then I would leap free of the water into the air, flinging water in tiny droplets off of my tail and then fall with a splash back into the water to continue swimming as if I had never left. As I swam down the river, it changed into an estuary or delta, and finally into a sea.

My spirit then transformed into a sea otter and played in the sea water, spinning and twirling like a whirling dervish.

Bubbles arose in the clear water in trails behind my paws.

My spirit had made the journey from the sky to the sea and saw that it was all good. I was at peace.

I lay there in a semiconscious blissful state (read: high as a kite) when Sean came running into the room saying, “Sue come out and see the manatees!!!” And then he ran back out.