Visiting Pale Male

Even though I already saw Pale Male this morning as he flew lazy circles above a panicked flock of pigeons outside my office window, it was a pleasant day today, so I visited Pale Male and Lola's nest site early this afternoon. Unfortunately, neither bird was present. I sat alone on a green bench a small distance away from the hawk fan clique. They were crowded together on their usual bench directly across from the model sailboat pond (formally known as the Conservatory Water) in Central Park. The hawk fans appeared relaxed and almost bored as they talked and joked with each other, their telescopes packed away or standing as lonely sentinals, covered with black cloths. It was almost as though the recent hawk nest drama had never occurred.

After watching large numbers of people, English sparrows, rock doves ("pigeons") and eastern grey squirrels for almost an hour, I felt chilled so I moved on. I strolled around The Ramble and was surprised to find Pale Male sitting in a large tree near the bird feeders. These feeders, each containing either suet with peanuts, black-oil sunflower or thistle seeds, daily host scores of hungry House Finches, American Goldfinches, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatches, while a small and late-migrating flock of American Robins whinnied overhead. Unexpectedly, these birds were not intimidated by the hawk's presence, even though he watched them intently, bobbing his head in anticipation from time to time.

Suddenly, Pale Male swept low through the bare trees and landed on another branch approximately 23 meters (75 feet) away. He stared at a squirrel that hung upside down on a tree truck, motionless, chattering an alarm. A minute later, Pale Male again flew through the trees and landed on a bare branch that was high over a paved walkway. None of the people below noticed him at all. He watched them for a moment but seemed to grow bored. A few moments later, he moved on again, disappearing through the trees in the direction of The Lake.

Pale Male and Lola: FINALLY HOME

Well, it finally happened. As of approximately 11 am EST, Pale Male and Lola's nest site is free of all distractions (dangling scaffolding) and health hazards (dangling netting). Thanks to all of you who have called, written and otherwise made your opinions known to the Co-op Board members and their minions as they sought to deny these birds their rightful place on this building and in the hearts of people all around the world. Pale Male and Lola are truly the People's Birds.

Pale Male and Lola: How many ways can YOU spell "liar"?

Face it: Today is a crappy day. The malls, museums and movie theatres are crawling with angry, disappointed people and their angry, disappointed kids. Everywhere you look, there is no escape! Besides, aren't you still (just a little bit) angry because the Grinch spoiled your Christmas? ... because Santa left you a lump of coal in your stocking? ... that your holiday dinner drama turned your stomach? Bah, HUMBUG?!

Well, I have a great solution for you! You can use ALL your excess pent-up energy to raise hell on behalf of Pale Male and Lola! Even though it was repeatedly promised by the Co-op Board at 927 Fifth Avenue and by their contractors that the scaffolding that dangles above Pale Male and Lola's nest would be removed today, this was (surprise, surprise!) yet another lie. Er, misrepresentation.

The following humans, Homo hubris disingenuous, are all ignoring the NYC Audubon Society's repeated demands that they live up to their agreement of last week to remove the scaffolding today. As a result, the scaffolding and the netting that hangs four feet from it and into the nest spikes, will remain in place until ...

Hugo (212.737.XXXX),

the Grinchy control-freak building "super" provides roof access to

Brown Harris Stevens (212.906.XXXX),

the uncooperative money-grubbing contractor who owns the scaffolding and the netting that endangers the birds' lives (you'll probably end up talking to Noreen McKenna)

and the morally-constipated Scrooge Richard D. "Dick" Cohen (212.980.XXXX),

the bird/nature-hating chairman of the Co-op board and co-instigator of this nest-pillaging fiasco, along with his Co-op neighbor, former director and ahem, alleged plunderer of Enron, Robert A. Belfer


... all decide they have gotten bored with playing their pretentious little game with us. So please, put your pent-up fury to good use by making liberal use of these er, upstanding citizens' phone numbers to deliver messages of er, dismay, to them.

Pale Male and Lola: The First Day of Kwanzaa

On this first day of Kwanzaa, neither Pale Male nor Lola were anywhere to be seen and their nest cradle was still under attack by the netting that worked loose from its restraints on the scaffolding above it. This netting hangs down into the nest spikes and poses a safety hazard for the hawks. My repeated phone calls (yet another one today, ho-hum. I was kicked into vmail) to the chatty Diana (Preferred Restoration, Inc., 718.328.XXXX), have been ignored because nothing has changed at the site. [I suspect that Diana acts as an answering service, and has no power at all, except to pass messages along to their respective contractors].

Pale Male and Lola: Christmas Day

Christmas Day finally dawned in NYC, clear and crisp. I tried, with limited success, to sleep through my neighbors' raucous parties that finally quieted around 3 am, and finally crawled out of bed at 6 am when my smoke detector alarm sounded, for mysterious reasons. After dawdling in the shower, I finally made it to Central Park where I sat on a park bench blinking in the bright sun, surrounded by flocks of puffy English Sparrows, Passer domesticus. They gazed at me hopefully while I studied Pale Male and Lola's nest cradle. Neither hawk was present on or even near the nest, although Lola did appear briefly to soar low over the sailboat pond, shrieking.

The first thing I noticed about the nest structure was despite the contractor's promises yesterday to secure the netting that hangs from the scaffolding, this has not occurred. In fact, the netting has loosened more and now four feet of net hangs from the scaffolding and is tangled in the spikes themselves. This poses a hazard to the birds because they can either become entangled or entrapped in it and cause themselves serious injury or even death. Of course, if either bird is injured or worse through this carelessness, there will be plenty of negative publicity and loss of business as a result.

I called Preferred Restoration, Inc. and talked with Diana, who remembered me from yesterday, and used my authority as an ornithologist to voice my concerns about the netting issue again. Diana, a chatty and seemingly ardent Pale Male and Lola fan herself, immediately called the contractor at home to make sure the net is secured. I plan to return to the sailboat pond for awhile today to watch them take care of this, although my update on this situation will probably not appear until tomorrow, when I return to my office (the only place where I have internet access).

Pale Male and Lola: Home for the Holidays

I checked Pale Male and Lola's nest today (815 - 845 am EST) and the installation of the stainless steel nest cradle is apparently complete. The "cradle" is comprised of large metal spikes that curve over the top of the cornice and stand up around the edges of the nest. Heavy metal screening lines this cradle and the original anti-pigeon spikes are located in the middle of the structure. This nest "cradle" provides approximately 2-8 inches clearance between the bottom of the nest and the top of the cornice so air can circulate freely. The top of the cornice is covered with a sheet of something (plastic? molded plexiglass?) that is probably intended to protect the masonry. Despite looking at the nest from several angles, I was unable to determine to my satisfaction whether any sticks were present.

Much to my annoyance, the scaffolding was still hanging from the edge of the roof above the cornice (and nest). It still had the banner hanging from it and the netting flapped in the icy winds. I was ready to complain loudly and repeatedly to the advertizing contractors to remove the scaffolding immediately for fear that it scares the birds away, but at that moment, Lola flew up to the nest structure and landed on it. She surveyed her kingdom below, appearing to be quite pleased with the nest cradle while ignoring the scaffolding and its flapping net. In fact, during the 30 minutes when I was there, Lola repeatedly flew in small circles over the structure and landed on it three times. She spent approximately half of her time sitting on the nest cradle. Pale Male was also present, soaring in small circles and approaching the cornice very closely, but he never landed on it while I was there.

I did call the advertizing contractors this afternoon to voice my concerns about the possibility of entanglement/entrapment of the birds in the netting that is dangling down from the scaffolding on the left side. The woman I spoke with said they would get someone out there today to secure it better. (This woman also said that the scaffolding would remain in place until the contractors were certain the structure had been installed correctly, that installation had taken longer than planned so they were unable to make their final inspection.)

Of course, I will check on the netting and I will make a loud noise, in concert with all of you, if it isn't secured adequately.

PROTEST INFO: ... finally!

I visited Pale Male and Lola's building today during a lull in the stormy weather (2 pm EST). The scaffolding had been lowered down to the level of the cornice and was covered with a plastic banner that advertized the contractor's contact information. Perhaps not coincidentally, the banner also served to obscure the three workmen standing behind it on the scaffolding, drilling holes into the stone facade of the building. According to the few PaleMale/Lola fans present, the stainless steel "cradle" had been delivered late in the morning but no one had seen it yet. The Pale Male/Lola fans and reporters were standing in their usual place, directly across the street from the building, unable to really see anything from their vantage point due to the banner.

I leaned against a tree trunk about half a block north of the building so I could watch the progress. It was dark due to the heavy clouds and rain so the only thing I could see was the dust pile from the drilled stone, which was a lovely pink color (obviously the cream colored stone facade is heavily oxidized and sun-bleached). A photographer from the NY Post approached me to look through my binoculars and said the rain was making it difficult to see anything through his telephoto camera lens.

After half an hour, I left to take care of other business and planned to return later (4 pm EST). Unfortunately, by the time I was returning, the rain had become an underwear-drenching downpour combined with brisk winds (16 mph with frequent gusts to 33 mph) so I instead returned to my office to dry/thaw out. I will return tomorrow (the rain is supposed to subside around midnight tonight).


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: A Wee Bit of Progress

The latest news on Pale Male and Lola's nest site is that the masonry work on the building has been completed, the stainless steel "nest cradle" is finished (courtesy of Champion Metal Workers in Deer Park, Long Island) and it will finally be installed tomorrow, along with some sticks from their previous nest.

The NYC Audubon Society will host a celebratory vigil on Thursday, 23 December from 430 - 6 pm EST on the Central Park side of the street at 74th and 5th Avenue. Christmas carols will be sung, candles lit, celebratory signs displayed and perhaps a few of us will drink a toast (okay, not on the sidewalk -- don't want to be arrested, after all!). I also learned that there is film of construction of the "nest cradle" that will be available soon on the NYC Audubon site.

Don't forget that it is very cold out there (this is coming from a person who spent three hours standing in one place below the boreal owl's roost tree tonight -- I am still thawing out), especially after the sun goes down, so dress appropriately.


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: ... and more waiting ...

I visited Pale Male and Lola's nest location today (as I did yesterday), remaining in front of 927 Fifth Avenue for two and a half hours. I discovered that nothing has changed (also the same as yesterday). Would it be redundant of me to mention that this was disappointing? Would it be redundant of me to say that, last Friday, the Co-op Board told EJ McAdams from the NYC Audubon Society that nest reinstallation would be completed by today? The latest lie .. er, misrepresentation .. that the Co-op Board told us (today) is that Pale Male and Lola's nest will be reinstalled by Thursday, 23 December. We shall see!

Further adding to my disappointment, I did not see Pale Male or Lola today as I usually do, although I was told that Lola was seen earlier, flying low over the Boathouse Pond in Central Park. I was saddened to learn that a dead Red-tailed Hawk discovered several days ago in Central Park is now thought to be one of Pale Male and Lola's chicks-of-the-year. This would explain why I have not seen this particular bird recently. The bird's body is being necropsied to determine the cause of death, which is suspected to be due to eating a poisoned rat.

It's odd how one person standing in one place can attract so much attention. I stood in the middle of the sidewalk, trying not to freeze to death during my lonely silent vigil, looking through my 10X50 binoculars at the cornice where the nest was originally located. My binoculars are so powerful that I can count people's nose hairs from 50 feet away, so the sight of me standing still with these impressive binoculars really caused a stir among passersby: again and again, people asked me what I was looking at, while others wanted to discuss recent events. One family told me they were visiting from Seattle (my beloved other home!) and reported that the local news media there was providing daily coverage to Pale Male and Lola's plight. As I explained the situation to interested onlookers, I realized once more that there are many ways to provide information and to make an impression on the public and I tend to work best on an individual or small-group basis. Needless to say, I hope today's contribution on behalf of Pale Male and Lola's cause was effective, even though I made it in my own very quiet and unassuming way.

So I had my binoculars today instead of my notebook because I had been looking at a rarely-seen vagrant Boreal Owl, Aegolius funereus, who was snoozing in a spruce tree near The Tavern on The Green. While I held my silent vigil, I watched the antics of Central Park birds when no one was questioning me. I was particularly enchanted by several white-breasted nuthatches, Sitta carolinensis carolinensis, circling the large tree branches above my head, oblivious to gravity, while a tufted titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, chattered softly from a bush near me, puffed into a nearly perfect ball, looking like a Christmas ornament instead of a bird.

Unexpectedly, Mary Tyler Moore stepped out of the building and waved at the doorman before walking away. I had never before seen her in real life, so I was surprised by how thin and brittle she appeared. Sometime after my toes and fingers had frozen (despite my wool socks and fleece gloves), I saw a solidly-built white man leave the building. He was wearing a dirty orange baseball cap, a navy blue wool peacoat, jeans and a rather nice pair of black shoes. I immediately focused my binoculars on him, magnifying him into a giant with monstrous proportions. Unfortunately, he had his head tilted so I was unable to properly census his nose hairs. He stood outside the building entrance, stared straight into my eyes and then dialed his cell phone.

I accepted his challenge with a soft chuckle and kept my binoculars trained on him. Jabbering on his cell phone, he leaned back to look up at the cornice. He looked back at me, still talking on his phone. He finally walked across the street to the Central Park side of the street where I was located and stood on the sidewalk, talking on his phone all this time.

Suddenly pleased with this little game, I moved into the middle of the cobblestone sidewalk where I was easily visible to him and continued to watch him through my binoculars. He became increasingly nervous. Finally, after a few minutes, I expected him to approach me to scream in my face because he was so obviously agitated. But after a quick glance at me, he instead turned his back to me, walked south along the sidewalk and hid behind a large tree. Still talking on his cell phone. A few minutes later, he cautiously peeked around the tree at me. (Yes, I was still staring at him through my binoculars). He hid behind the trunk again. By this time, this entire event began to seem ridiculous, even silly, but I am a dedicated watcher and I was curious to see what he would do next.

The chunky man continued south along Fifth Avenue after a few more minutes of hiding behind trees, walked across a cross street, hid behind another tree and peered back at me (yes, I was still staring at him). He ended his phone conversation and returned to the sidewalk, then turned to walk backwards while looking at me (yes, I was still staring) before he walked out into the traffic that was stopped in middle of Fifth Avenue. He hailed a cab and quickly disappeared into its dark maw.

I was quite entertained with this unexpected turn of events. Even though I wasn't sure of this man's identity, I enjoyed intimidating him by simply staring at him through my binoculars. In fact, if I had a camera with a telephoto lens, I would have taken his picture, too. My sudden flash of malice was partially triggered by the absence of any progress on nest restoration and partially by events that transpired last week and throughout the weekend.

According to my sources, the building residents hired a cameraman [named Anthony, see peer reviews below for more information and a link to his picture] to videotape us while we protested. This tape is being reviewed by the residents and their lawyers to identify us and to file complaints with the police so we can be arrested and charged with crimes. Unfortunately, I was captured on video by this cameraman on Friday while talking with EJ McAdams, who is negoting reinstallation of the nest spikes with the Co-op Board (hopefully, asking for information while standing on a public sidewalk is still legal, otherwise, I can look forward to free room and board for an undetermined length of time).

So, not to change the subject, but when I returned to Pale Male and Lola's original nest site today, I was determined to write something for all of you who wrote to me to complain that I did not tell you what is happening at their building right now. I hope you appreciate my efforts to tell an entertaining (and true!) story despite the fact that "a whole lot of nothing" happened today. Unfortunately, the silly nonsense reported here is what "a whole lot of nothing" looks like.


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

Avian Ambassadors

Conservation is sometimes perceived as stopping everything cold, as holding whooping cranes in higher esteem than people. It is up to science to spread the understanding that the choice is not between wild places or people, it is between a rich or an impoverished existence for man.

- Thomas E. Lovejoy


It was barely controlled chaos. We stood, 300 and more of us, in the cold wind with our backs to the nearly naked trees in Central Park. Taxis, busses and cars slowed in the avenue before us, creating a chorus of honking horns, punctuated with whooping sirens from passing police vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks. Several people wandered through the crowd, passing out homemade cookies with mittened hands. It was such a festive atmosphere that one might believe this gathering was a celebration rather than the front lines of a nationwide protest.

"Aaaah, tourists ... " grinned a tall thin man next to me as he hoisted a large cardboard sign over his head that proclaimed in big green letters; "927 = money without morals!" Two people who were camouflaged as oversized Northern Cardinals pirouetted out of the street and back into the crowd after the traffic began to advance. Moments later, a loud roar from the crowd greeted a scarlet double-decked tourist bus that snailed along in front of us, honking spasmodically.

Barely visible behind a huddle of adults and children clad in dark lumpy coats was a telescope and large TV monitor standing on the uneven cobblestone sidewalk. The commanding silhouette of a Red-tailed Hawk slid across the monitor and soared into an orange Manhattan sunset.

This bird was Pale Male, the Central Park Red-tailed Hawk. As his name implies, his plumage is unusually pale for a Red-tailed Hawk. For this reason, Pale Male is easily distinguished from other Red-tailed Hawks in the area, even by novice bird watchers. Throughout the years, this hawk has convinced four different females to join him in his unconventional nest at different times. Together, Pale Male and his consorts raised 23 chicks to independence, which is an unusually high reproductive success for any wild animal. Pale Male and his current mate, the chocolate-colored Lola, have been raising their chicks in his 12-year-old nest during the past three years.

But suddenly and without warning, Pale Male's nest had been removed from its home on the cream-colored stone building that loomed across the street from us. Before its removal, the nest was located on the 12th floor stone cornice that curved gently over the large centrally located windows. But several days ago, at the request of the building's Co-op Board members and residents, contract workers unceremoniously stuffed the stick nest into several large black garbage bags. It seems that the building residents were annoyed by the flocks of telescopes, video equipment, cameras and binoculars daily pointed at their building, upset to step over the occasional pigeon bone on the sidewalk and disgusted by the hawk poop that decorated the green awning above their front door. But the residents of the building apparently never expected that destruction of this nest would trigger such a commotion, that it could provoke a tremendous cry of protest that grew to a nearly deafening crescendo as it echoed across the country and even overseas.

The resulting astonishment of the building's human residents at the magnitude of this protest was simply beyond belief. Even though Red-tailed Hawks are not an endangered species and in fact, there are more of them alive now than at any time in recent memory, Pale Male is exceptional. In fact, Pale Male is the most famous wild Red-tailed Hawk who ever lived. Without the assistance of a real estate agent, the wild-born Pale Male chose to live in an urban area and to nest on one of the most exclusive and expensive buildings in all of New York City. The location of his nest allowed latte sipping crowds to lounge on benches in Central Park while watching each chapter of this hawk's life unfold before their eyes. Thus, we ended up knowing more about these birds than we know about our own neighbors. Pale Male's dedication to his families attracted local affection but with our first glimpse of a fluffy dark-eyed chick peering over the edge of his nest, we all fell deeply, madly in love. Our intense fondness for these birds was easily translated into something much bigger by the media who serves a public hungry for good news: at least two documentaries and one book have been published about this particular bird in the past ten years.

In contrast, none of the residents of this building have enjoyed anything even vaguely resembling this sort of public affection, and for good reasons. Pale Male and his mates have freely given far more pleasure to the residents and visitors of New York City than all of his Co-op neighbors, these so-called "Masters of the Universe", combined. While the building residents are widely viewed as epitomizing social plasticity, rampant greed and unmitigated ruthlessness, Pale Male and his families daily reveal the quiet beauty of every day life while teaching us the value of persistence and instilling in us a profound respect and love for nature and her wild citizens. Even though Pale Male and his families are common birds, their significance to us is uncommon. The sight of these birds soaring above New York City's concrete canyons makes us lift our eyes to the heavens and gently reminds us of our spiritual connection to the natural world. For all these reasons, Pale Male and his families are precious. As Baba Dioum once said, In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught. Pale Male and his families still have many lessons to teach us.

=======

This essay was written about the gathering in honor of Pale Male and Lola that took place on Sunday 12 December.

Photographs from the Gathering, courtesy of NYC Audubon Society.

============

tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

Included with the Best of Me Symphony
Issue 97.




Included with "The Best of Science, Nature and Medical Blog Writing"
Issue 20.

============

PROTEST INFO: Watching and waiting ..

I visited Pale Male and Lola's nest site again today (2-3 pm EST). As I walked through Central Park towards the apartment building, Lola flew over my head and disappeared into the grey skies above the eastern part of the city.

As soon as I arrived in front of the building, I was disappointed to see that no repairs were being made to the cornice today. The scaffolding was still in the same place and with the same attitude it had for the past several days, obviously untouched.

Today's vigil consisted of approximately 30 people who inspired the usual chorus of honking horns from passing vehicles. An ambulance in full wail honked its horn -- one of the loudest horns I've ever heard -- as it raced past us to an emergency, and a city bus driver cheered over his bus loudspeaker "Bring Back the Nest!"

Today, tremendous anger was focused on the Audubon Society by the protesters; in fact, several protesters loudly stated that they had canceled their Audubon memberships. Many protesters claimed the Audubon Society made too many concessions to the Co-op Board during the negotiations and they are further allowing the Board to slow progress to a crawl on spike reinstallation. A few protesters are firmly convinced that the spikes will never be restored to the cornice while others claimed that the hawks will never accept the new nesting structure.

High above the rumbling discord, a pale ghost appeared unnoticed in the grey sky and soared directly to the disputed cornice. Despite the presence of the scaffolding, Pale Male was not intimidated; he placed his feet on the cornice as if to settle there, or perhaps to drop off another stick, before he sprang away again on the wind. Oblivious to our sudden cheers and the muffled sound of gloved hands clapping, Pale Male sailed gracefully along Fifth Avenue and landed awkwardly on the thin iron railing that bordered an apartment window one block north, tipping forward and back several times as he neatly folded his wings.


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: The Drama Continues

I checked on Pale Male and Lola's former nest site earlier today (230 pm EST) and I saw a window washing rig with several nets on it dangling from the roof, hanging down to a few feet above the cornice that originally supported the nest, but otherwise, nothing has changed. I was very disappointed because I was under the impression that installation of the railing and spikes was supposed to be completed by today. Both Pale Male and Lola hovered almost continually over the cornice, nearly motionless as they flew into the strong winds.

Tonight (6 pm EST), I just returned from the silent Vigil of Lights being held on the sidewalk across the street from the building where Pale Male and Lola lived. EJ McAdams from the NYC Audubon had just left the latest meeting regarding nest restoration and was positive about the progress being made. EJ McAdams says restoration should be underway by Tuesday of next week although there are weather issues that might affect the progress of the work. For example, the nest apparently caused some water damage to the facade of the building where it prevented proper ventilation to the building structure, so that damage must be repaired before the nest railing and spikes can be installed. This can only be done if it does not rain. For this reason, this part of the work might actually commence on Saturday (it is supposed to rain and snow on Sunday), but it is unclear what the exact plan is at the moment.

Some protesters are unhappy with the slowness of the process. They believe that Richard D. Cohen and the Co-op Board are not acting in good faith, that the board are dragging their feet in the hopes that the birds will solve the problem by leaving, and the protesters have good reasons to believe this, in my opinion. These protesters also think that silent vigils and peaceful protests are easily ignored by the residents and their neighbors and thus are not achieving the goal: pressuring the board to quickly reinstall the spikes that anchored Pale Male and Lola's nest to the cornice. These protesters are becoming increasingly restless and are agitating for significant progress to occur by Tuesday, the 21st of December, although I have no clue what they plan to do if their demand is not met.

Despite the fact that the process is progressing, I think that We The People MUST CONTINUE PRESSURING THE CO-OP BOARD AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS! We must demonstrate to the Co-op members in particular that we will not be distracted from our goal by holiday consumerism. As you finish your Christmas shopping and spend time with friends and family, don't forget that two homeless hawks need your help. Please give 30 minutes of your precious time to Pale Male and Lola by writing letters, sending email, and making telephone calls. Let's help Pale Male and Lola return Home for the Holidays!

Click here for contact information for all public officials involved.

Click here for contact information for the Co-op Board members and building residents.

If you live in NYC, please join us for one or all of these vigils on the Central Park side of the street at 74th and 5th Avenue;

Friday evening 430pm. (yes, that's tonight) Silent Vigil of Lights. Bring a flashlight or a candle and handwarmers!
Saturday 12 Noon. Bring bird seed and handwarmers!
Sunday 12 Noon. Bring bird seed and handwarmers!

Note: It is winter and thus it is very cold and windy so wear warm clothes. Bring hand-warmers. Please respect the fact that this is a peaceful gathering and not an official protest so do not cross the street to threaten or harass any of the residents in the building.


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: Breakthrough?

The pressure that we are exerting on the co-op board is working! According to the announcement by Audubon Society officials last night, and also the news reports I've read and the news reports I've heard on National Public Radio, the hawks will be allowed to return to their original nesting site by the end of this week! The building architect designed a railing that will prevent sticks from falling from the nest onto passersby below and this railing, along with the anti-pigeon spikes that held the original nest in place, will be installed immediately. This solution apparently addresses the safety concerns satisfactorily through the end of this breeding season. According to Richard D. Cohen, other measures may be considered to make the nest less of a nuisance, but without removing it or moving it elsewhere.

Rest assured, Mr. Cohen, that We The People will be watching and protecting Pale Male and Lola's nest from all predatory actions.

In related news, you might have noticed that Pale Male's website was not updated last night. This is because Lincoln Karim, the webmaster for Pale Male's website and also the Central Park telescope man and keeper of the on-site television monitor and video equipment, was arrested at last night's protest. Errrr, gathering. He was charged with several counts of aggravated harassment, and also stalking and endangerment of a child because he approached Paula Zahn and her family four times, once telling one of Paula Zahn's sons "your parents are going to pay for this" while he was walking the family dog. Paula Zahn interpreted his behavior as threatening, filed a complaint and the police acted accordingly. Lincoln Karim spent last night in jail and will be arraigned in court some time this morning.

Interestingly, Mary Tyler Moore, another resident of the same building and an animal rights activist herself, hired a lawyer to represent Lincoln Karim. Because Lincoln Karim works as a video engineer for Associated Press television news, his employer is also investigating his arrest. This development does not sound like good news for Lincoln's future employment opportunities. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to read Lincoln's thoughts about his adventures as a captive of NYC's legal system (if he chooses to share).

[I am also wondering if NBC's Law and Order or any of its spin offs will film a special episode of this event, even though no one was the victim of a violent crime? But I digress ... ]

But Paula Zahn is not the only one feeling pressured. Other co-op board members and building residents are also feeling the heat from our collective wrath. It was reported in the news this morning that, according to a friend of his who wishes to remain anonymous, Bruce Wasserstein has been asking Richard D. Cohen to allow the hawks to return. According to my sources, even Wasserstein's own kids have been pressuring him; one protester photographed his kids in their 11th floor apartment window holding a sign that said "Bring Back the Hawks!"


====


We The People are waiting for installation of spikes and railing at the nest site. We The People hope the hawks will return to their original nest site (they do fly over the area often, so they have not yet adandoned the area). We The People will celebrate Victory for the Hawks only after they are rebuilding their nest.

Some source material for this update;

Morning 15 December NY Times article

Morning 15 December NY Daily News article

Evening 14 December Seattle Post-Intelligencer article


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: Negotiations, 2

THIS JUST IN! PDF (large!) of the Metro morning paper for 14 December reporting that an architect will be hired to design a safe way to incorporate the nest into the building structure (see page 5 of the linked pdf). This certainly is good news, EXCEPT architects do not work on bird time! How many months or years will it take this architect to come up with a workable solution? I'll bet the co-op board is hoping the architect will take a long time so Pale Male and Lola simply go away! The engineers need time to implement the architect's design and the birds need time to rebuild their nest before breeding season (in February, remember?)We The People must keep pressuring everyone involved with this mess to design a workable solution within one week!


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: Negotiations

Our protest is having an effect! According to a report on National Public Radio, the chairman of the co-op board, Richard D. Cohen, said that Pale Male and Lola could return to their nest site provided that the structure they build is "safe for pedestrians". [No mention was made this time of a "required" nesting platform. Also gone are all previous -- earlier -- claims that the birds violated public health codes]. The Audubon Society representatives merely state that the negotiations were "constructive".

NY Times story about the negotiations.

Honestly, the nest structure WAS SAFE up until the day that the building co-op had it removed. Because no evidence has ever been made public that the nest structure was in any way unsafe, it is absolutely ludicrous to expect the public to simply accept the co-op board's claim of "unsafe" as reality. As a result, I have concluded that Richard D. Cohen's softening position regarding Pale Male and Lola's nest is merely an attempt to "save face" rather than represent the reality of the (engineering) situation.

Because the building co-op, and Richard D. Cohen specifically, have made all sorts of claims about the nest that were later shown to be untrue, I think WE THE PEOPLE are WISE to be very suspicious of anything they say. We The People cannot relent now, because nothing legally binding has been signed and Pale Male and Lola's nest has not been returned! WE MUST keep our momentum, we MUST keep the pressure going: Write those letters! Call those phone numbers! Send those emails, FAXes and US mail letters! Victory is in the air, but We The People cannot relent now or Pale Male and Lola will lose everything and we ALL will be diminished!

Let's give Pale Male and Lola the best Christmas gift we can give, the best of all, the gift of a home!


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: Gathering

How can you show your support for the return of Pale Male and Lola's nest if you do not live in NYC? PBS is showing the documentary Pale Male: The Movie on PBS twice this week. The rumor I was told at the gathering was these screenings are for fund raising purposes. Please check your local PBS station listings to see if this documentary can be seen in your area. If you live in NYC, this film will be shown on channel 13 (WNET) on Tuesday Dec. 14th at 8pm and again on Sunday Dec. 19th at 8pm.

A Pale Male screensaver is available for free download for both PCs and Macs.


The following is copied from the Pale Male website: There are "gatherings" of all interested people at 74th Street & 5th Ave (Manhattan) on the Central Park side of the Street:

Saturday, December 11 - Noon until The Nest is Back!
Sunday, December 12 - Noon until The Nest is Back!
Next Week - 4:30 Until The Nest is Back!

According to our permit, which is held by the NYC Audubon Society, this is a peaceful gathering, not an official protest. We are not allowed to block the street, harass or confront the residents of the building, nor are we allowed to use loudspeakers. However, we are allowed to bring bags of birdseed to sprinkle liberally on the entrance to Pale Male and Lola's building!


NOTE: It is possible that our outcry might be causing the President of the co-op, Richard D. Cohen, to relent a teensy bit. Saturday morning (11 Dec), he said on a National Public Radio report that the residents of the building may be willing to build a nest platform on the building for the birds, provided that the platform did not pose a threat to pedestrians. A meeting of both National and NYC Audubon Society representatives, Co-op board members and NY city officials is scheduled for Monday morning (13 Dec) to negotiate a suitable solution for everyone.


Of course, this is good news if this offer to negotiate is made in good faith by the co-op members, but don't let this potential breakthrough prevent you from continuing to protest intensely because negotiations have not yet occurred and nothing has been signed that is legally binding! Additionally, the nest platform must be in place as soon as possible so Pale Male and Lola do not lose the 2005 breeding season, which begins in February (thus requiring the nest to be completely rebuilt before then, obviously).


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: Voices

The sound that you are hearing is the call of a Red-tailed Hawk* (reload page to hear it again).



This image of Pale Male appears here courtesy of Lincoln Karim, who has authorized use of his photographs with proper attribution to all who seek restoration of Pale Male and Lola's nest.
=======

Following is a sampling of protest letters that have been copied to me as well as links to the NY Times Letters to the Editor and to the Pale Male archives found at National Public Radio. All letters posted here appear with the authors' kind permission.

NY Times letters to the Editor (10 December)

National Public Radio archive of stories and photos about Pale Male and his succession of consorts.

Enclosed [below] is a letter that our fourth grade class has sent to the following people; Mr. Lillien, Mr Schnekenberger, The NY Times and the real estate firm of Brown, Harris, Stevens. We are so sad about Pale Male losing his nest. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

Sandra Kesselman
Burton Street School
Panorama City, Ca.
Fourth grade, room 36

Dear New York Times,

We are fourth and fifth grade students in a barrio school in a suburb of Los Angeles. We love Pale Male and his families. We have seen the movie about him many times. We have become interested in reading and writing because of Pale Male. We have discovered lots of things about Buteo hawks. We watch the hawks soar over our playground when they look for food. There is a bulletin board devoted to Pale Male in our classroom. We cried when we heard that Charles Kennedy died. Please tell the people who took the nest down to put it back. Pale Male and Lola need to nest where it is best for them. We want to believe that nature matters and that people are kind. We want to believe in New York City as a place that values creatures like Pale Male. He is like us. He has courage in spite of many difficulties. Please we beg you to tell the landlord of the building to let Pale Male and Lola live where they always have lived.

 Room 36
 Burton Street School
 8111 Calhoun St.
 Panorama City, Calif. 91402

=======

Being a long term bird breeder, I am appalled and saddened at the destruction of the nest of this incredible pair of birds after so many years of breeding in that one spot. Perhaps the responsible party did it on impulse without regard to the welfare of the pair. I beg this person to reconsider their actions and to replace the spikes that maintained the nest of Pale Male and Lola. This special pair has become a legend in NYC. They are also a beneficial factor in reducing the pigeon and rat population in that area.

Patricia Barth
PLANNED PARROTHOOD™
Shokan, NY (home of the nesting bald eagles)
www.plannedparrothood.com

======

* The call of the Red-tailed Hawk is recorded by Lang Elliott at NatureSounds Studio and is linked and embedded here without permission for educational purposes only, with no intention to profit in any way whatsoever.


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: From the People, To the People, For the Birds

Hrm, it's amazing what one can find out using reverse look up services on the web. According to those services, there are 15 human families living in Pale Male and Lola's building. If you wish to call or send copies of your protest letters directly to the people who sanctioned and requested the nest removal, feel free to use the contact information below;

PROTEST

UPDATED! 12 December 10 am EST!

Richard D. Cohen
Co-op President
Capital Properties
527 Madison Avenue
New York NY
office: 212.980.XXXX

Paula Zahn, CNN newscaster and wife of the building co-op President, Richard D. Cohen, works at CNN news, you should also call CNN to express your outrage (thank you, GW for this information!);

The Paula Zahn Show: 212.275.XXXX
Web-based email to the Paula Zahn Show
CNN: 212.275.XXXX


Names, mailing addresses (several email addresses) and phone numbers for the people and businesses in this building

927 Fifth Ave Corp
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.737.XXXX

Elizabeth Ainslie
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.535.XXXX

Norma Bacilious, MD
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.737.XXXX

Christopher T. Chia, MD
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.517.XXXX

Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Associates
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.737.XXXX

Maurits Edersheim
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.861.XXXX

JH Filenbaum
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.249.XXXX

Judith Hernstadt
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.249.XXXX

Robert Levine, MD
Chairman and Chief Medical Officer
MedHelp.com
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.794.XXXX
212.628.XXXX
Fax: 212.628.XXXX
email: srobertmd@xxxxxxxxx.xxx

Thomas P. McGovern, MD
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.772.XXXX

Marc Rowan
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.794.XXXX

Robert G. Schwager, MD, PC
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.249.XXXX

Smooth Touch
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
212.744.XXXX

Tom Walker
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021
646.422.XXXX

Harold D. Winters [212.988.XXXX] listed as owner BUT Cohen and Zahn apparently live on the 12th floor;

Richard D. Cohen & Paula Zahn
12th Floor
927 5th Ave.
Manhattan, NY 10021


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

PROTEST INFO: Pale Male and Lola's Nest Pillaged by People

Complete Contact Information for one-stop protesting efficiency
Newest Content Added: 11 December 229 pm (EST)

9 December, 1046 am EST: Pale Male was circling low over the Natural History Museum for five or six minutes, shrieking loudly. He typically is silent and daily perches on window ledges that face Central Park or atop the flag pole in front of the museum. Three to five times per week, he eats pigeons while sitting on the window ledges, leaving the bones behind. This is the first time I have seen him since Tuesday, early afternoon. I have watched the behavior of Pale Male (especially) for more than 2 years so I am familar with him. Shrieking and refusing to perch on the window ledges is unusual behavior for this bird and suggests that he is distressed.

If you are like me, you were outraged to learn that Pale Male and Lola's nest was destroyed by private contractors on the afternoon of 7 December, under the cover of a truly awful rainstorm. According to my understanding, harassment or destruction of an active nest is illegal and can be prosecuted under US Fish and Wildlife Laws. Based upon many people's observations, this was an active nest up until the time it was removed. The news media is going nuts over this, so this story will not "go away" soon.


Who are Pale Male and Lola?* The pair of wild Red-tailed Hawks who nest on a ledge of an apartment building. Their building is located on 927 5th Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side, across the street from Central Park (Pale Male -- so named because he is unusually pale for a Red-tailed Hawk -- is pictured above). Pale Male and his succession of companions have successfully raised 23 Red-tailed Hawks to independence in the past 10 years. These birds are known as the "Central Park Red-tailed Hawks" because they live in Central Park and help to control the burgeoning pigeon and rodent populations.

Background Information:

9 December, 522 pm EST: Pale Male and Lola's plight are now international news

9 December Op-Ed in NY Times

8 December Reuters News story

Pale Male's Website

Legal Controversy? (10 December 658 am EST) One reader, a law student at Berkeley, thinks so.

Did the US Fish and Wildlife Service disregard its own laws when it approved nest removal?

PROTEST

To protest the removal of Pale Male and Lola's nest, write your letter and then mailing, FAXing AND emailing copies to the following people (listed below).

Some things to remember when writing effective protest letters:

1. Your words as well as your numbers are important -- numbers are determined by the number of letters received and the method of delivery used to send them (US mail receives the greatest respect but is the slowest to be delivered).
2. Deliver your letter of protest using both email and USmail at least. If you have access to a FAX machine, use that delivery method, too.
3. Clearly state; (a) the problem (removal of Pale Male and Lola's nest), (b) your disapproval and (c) your desired solution (replace the spikes on the nest ledge so the hawks can rebuild their nest OR provide a nesting platform on the original building, on nearby buildings or in Central Park so the birds can renest in a welcoming environment. (of course, there is no guarantee the birds will accept a new site). This must occur soon so the birds can rebuild their nest before they begin breeding in February.)
4. Concise and clearly-worded letters (250-500 words) are most effective.
5. Sign your letter with your name and contact information (unsigned letters or letters without contact information are ignored and discarded).

Other things to include in your protest letters;

I suggest you get as much mileage as you can from your letters of protest. If you are a constituent of any of the political animals listed below, be sure to tell them how their reaction to this event will affect your future vote. You should mention in your letter if you or your family and friends already have (or plan to) visit NYC and how the removal of this nest might affect your future travel plans and spending patterns. Hit 'em in the pocketbook!


NY State Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service:

Email: lee_schneckenberger@fws.gov
Fax: 516.825.3597
Office: 516.825.3950 x234

You may mail your protest letter to:

Lee A. Schneckenberger
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Office of Law Enforcement
70 Sunrise Highway, Suite 419
Valley Stream, NY 11581

NOTE: Unlike songbird nests, raptor nests are active year-round, with the owners continually adding sticks to the existing structure and typically roosting in it at night. Up until several months ago, the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act protected all active nests from harassment and wanton destruction by people, under the threat of prosecution. "Active nests" were recently redefined by USFWS as being nests that contain either eggs or chicks (click here for pdf, added 11 Dec). Despite the fact that this nest did not contain eggs or chicks, Lola and Pale Male were actively adding sticks to the nest and were roosting in it an undetermined number of times. So the "common man" interpretation of "active nest" would reasonably conclude that this nest was indeed, active, even though USFWS does not agree. It is my opinion that removal of this nest is a cruel and unethical act and it should be restored without delay to avoid loss of the 2005 breeding season.

You can send your letter to the NY Times editorial staff. Because the NY Times does not publish open letters or third-party letters, if you want your protest letter to be considered for publication, rewrite it a little bit (20% different is sufficient) and remember to keep it short (250-300 words);

email: letters@nytimes.com
or FAX 212.556.3622

You may mail your protest letter to:

Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

Because Paula Zahn, CNN newscaster and wife of the building co-op President, Richard D. Cohen, works at CNN news, you should also call CNN to express your outrage (thank you, GW for this information!);

The Paula Zahn Show: 212.275.XXXX
Web-based email to the Paula Zahn Show
CNN: 212.275.XXXX

UPDATED! (9 December 1238 pm EST, again at 405 pm EST)
Real Estate Firm that manages Pale Male and Lola's building

As Rick points out in the comments section below, Joel Burris [office: 212.508.XXXX] at Brown Harris Stevens Management Company probably still redirects all phone calls to an answering machine, so if you are sent to voicemail hell, be sure to CALL THEIR ATTORNEYS (expensive for Mr. Burris and Mr. Vance) at 212.521.XXXX and be sure they know you are complaining about their client's actions against Pale Male and Lola so they bill their time appropriately. Remember: clearly state your complaint and be polite (their attorney$ are our unwitting allie$ in thi$ $ituation).

email: info@bhsusa.com

You can also mail your letter to:

Les Vance
Brown Harris Stevens
770 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Joel Burris, Residential Manager
Brown Harris Stevens
770 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10021

COMMENT: I think Mr. Burris and Mr. Vance should have saved themselves a lot of grief by resigning this account to avoid public outrage in response to their involvement in this unethical and cruel act.

Add your name to the NY Audubon Society Protest Letter and also read a sampling of media coverage of the nest removal.


NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

web-based email
FAX: 212.788.2460
Office: 212.788.8123
(NYC residents can also call 311)

You may mail your protest letter to:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007


NY State Governor George Pataki

web-based email
Office: 518.474.8390

You may mail your protest letter to:

Governor George E. Pataki
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

NY State Senator Hillary Clinton

web-based email
Office: 202.224.4451

You may mail your protest letter to:

NY State Senator Hillary Clinton
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

NY State Senator Charles Schumer

web-based email
Office: 202.224.6542

You may mail your protest letter to:

NY State Senator Charles Schumer
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

Congressperson Liz Kreuger (26th District)

email: lkrueger@senate.state.ny.us
Office: 518.455.2297

You may mail your protest letter to:

Liz Kreuger (26th District)
302 Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12247

Assemblymember Jonathan L. Bing (73rd Assembly District)

email: bingj@ assembly.state.ny.us
Office: 212.605.0937

You may mail your protest letter to:

Jonathan L. Bing (73rd Assembly District)
360 E. 57th Street
Mezzanine Level
New York, NY 10022


NOTE: If you are located in NYC, you can call 311 to voice your outrage.

Pale Male coming in for a landing on his (now destroyed) nest on 927 Fifth Avenue Avenue.**




=======

* Image [top] by Lincoln Karim/palemale.com is linked from NYCJP for illustrative purposes only, with no intention to profit in any way whatsoever.

** Image [above] is linked from A Joisey Girl That Loves New York for illustrative purposes only, with no intention to profit in any way whatsoever.


tags: NYC Life, Pale Male

Peregrination

Today is my day to mentally ramble. In truth, I have little to say today because I was not able to participate in yesterday's adventure that I had looked forward to all week. I had planned to walk across the George Washington Bridge on Saturday morning with the Shorewalkers and to write an essay about some aspect of that experience for my blog (and for their newsletter). But I was not able to participate and I am still disappointed today.

Instead, I spent yesterday morning working with S, one of the college students whom I tutor, because she rescheduled her Friday afternoon session for Saturday morning. Considering that she already owed me a large sum of money from a previous tutoring session, I happily made the appointment with the hope that I'd finally have some cash in my pocket so I could go food shopping for my birds and myself that evening (I was down to my last $16).

But approximately 20 minutes after our arrangements were finalized, I realized with some dismay that I had mistakenly agreed to meet S at the same time I was supposed to meet my Shorewalking pals for our bridge crossing adventure. Because S had rescheduled this particular session five times already (yes, I am patient) and also because I needed my money, I did not bother to reschedule our tutoring session for later, reminding myself that unemployed people are not entitled to have fun anyway, even if it's free fun.

Despite the flurry of rescheduling to fit her schedule, S arrived 35 minutes late on Saturday morning without making the effort to notify me first, adding insult to injury. While I waited and wondered where S was and whether she would even show up, I also wondered how far along my pals were on their bridge-crossing expedition at that exact moment -- it was such a beautiful day but was it windy on the bridge and were they cold? I also speculated about potential networking opportunities I was missing with them, anecdotes about the history of the bridge that I would never hear, interesting personal updates and entertaining stories that I would never be told. I gritted my teeth, resolving to charge S for those precious lost minutes.

Our tutoring session was tedious. During our sessions, S often questions me repeatedly about concepts we've already covered as if she's never heard about them before. This is primarily due to the fact that she rarely attends lecture despite being an auditory learner who must hear information and concepts explained aloud several times before she has the confidence to believe that she properly understands them (does she even know this is her learning style?). To make matters worse, the textbook is so poorly written that it is not very useful.

"You already know this material, you just don't realize it yet!" I stated flatly as we worked through an old exam for the second time. She awoke from her mental torpor for a moment and regarded me in surprise. What was she thinking? Fortunately, she did seem to understand my hint and began formulating reasonable answers to the exam questions. After this session, I realized that S is one of those odd people who is self-absorbed yet simultaneously lacking in self-awareness so she is oblivious to the effects of her deeply rooted insecurities. I wonder if she lives with that uneasy feeling that she is missing something crucial.

I understand S's troubles with insecurity because I have been fighting (and sometimes winning) my own battles with it, too. Most significantly, I am making progress with my writing. After suffering a post-employment depression that choked off all my nascent words, freezing them somewhere between the limbic system and Wernicke's area in my brain for 19 days, I am slowly and cautiously rediscovering my voice. I finally finished editing a scientific review paper that I wrote and now I am formatting it for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal. I am lingering obsessively over these chores, trying to postpone the inevitable slings and arrows of (outrageous?) colleagues. But at this point, I simply need to submit it to the journal and thereby let it go because I have several research papers that I must work on. Besides, I am sick of looking at it.

I have almost finished writing my book prospectus and fortunately, I am gaining momentum on this project. This is good because the publisher will actually pay a small advance for this book, an advance that will keep my rent paid for several more months after my unemployment insurance payments end five months from now -- provided, of course, that they approve the prospectus and sample chapters. Despite my reluctance to write a book at all due to my own inherent apprehensions, my current circumstances have transformed writing from a peculiar little hobby into a pressing occupation and a race against time, particularly since homelessness appears to be the next life-changing crisis ... er, adventure ... looming on my horizon.

Unfortunately, it's been difficult to work on this book because I mysteriously lost faith in the topic and for that reason alone, the book lost its appeal for me, so I worry it will not interest anyone, that no one will buy my book after publication and then my editor will hate me forever for being such an irresistable semi-literate scientific seductress, leading her and the publisher down the path to financial ruin. In spite of these worries, I have recently begun to suspect that my loss of interest in the book is a creative variation on Groucho Marx's observation; I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member. So I now refuse to contemplate future book sales. And really, it's not my job to worry about potential sales of my book, is it? Isn't that the publisher's job? It's their money invested in this book, after all.

Since I have stopped mentally torturing myself about poor book sales, I have shifted my energies to worrying that my colleagues will attack the book mercilessly regardless of its quality because its author (me) was a poor choice (in their eyes) to write it. After all, they could argue, I am not the World's Expert on this Topic. But, I remind myself, the World's Experts on this Topic have had plenty of time to write this book but haven't done so. Additionally, many people publish books about subjects they know nothing about so in fact, I am doing better than all of them because I actually am unusually knowledgeable about this particular topic. And, unlike many of my peers, I can actually write, too.

I am so relieved that my editor knows nothing of my inner turmoil; she'd think I am crazy.

Incidentally, I know you anxiously read this silly little digression all the way to the end to learn the answer to your burning questions; Did my student finally pay me? Was I able to go food shopping? Yes, my student did pay me all the money she owed me -- but she wrote a check. I was happy that I still had my last $16 in my pocket otherwise, my hungry birds would have rioted.


tags: unemployment, tutor

=======

Academic job applications sent last week: 4

Non-academic job applications sent last week: 2 (scientific assistant, proofreader)

Academic job rejection letters received last week: 3

Non-academic job rejection letters received last week: 1 (security guard)