This world is not fair
A car stopped in front of my house.
I frowned.
Visitors?
Not again, please!
But when I saw who came out my face brightened up.
A woman of about 30 and what a woman!
She looked like an angel, walked like an angel and appeared to talk like an angel.
When I glanced at her legs I was shocked even more.
Legs that are sexier just could not exist.
'This world is not fair' I thought.
I would be a happy man if I had a wife with only one such leg.
If I had to grade them from 1 to 10 I would say 11.
Apparently she realised quite well that she was the owner, since she wore a skirt that was not much bigger than a belt.
HER PARTNER
Then a man got out, I figured he was in his 60-ies.
At that age some men still look good but if I had to grade him he would get no more than a 3.
Was he the driver? Her father? Her lover maybe?
If he was her lover he was probably loaded with money.
Young, female and beautiful and a lover that is much older, ugly and rich has become a common combination today.
When she began to talk (why do women mostly start talking?) he appeared to be her lover indeed and he WAS real rich.
She said that she felt so sorry for him.
He was so nice (why do young females often find ugly older rich guys 'so nice?') and he had spent fortunes on pigeons but it all seemed a waste and now he thought about quitting. But he had one hope: Me, A S of all people.
If I could not put him on the winning track no one could.
Money was no problem; they would gladly pay me if I could help.
After I had heard her story I wanted to say:
'Money? Money? With money you can buy everything in this world apart from love, health, time and successes in pigeon sport'.
But I pulled myself together and said:
'With money you cannot buy successes in pigeon sport. There are many examples of people that never spent a dime on pigeons but still made it. One of them is Gaston.
'Who is he? Tell us about him.' she now asked.
So I began to talk about Gaston.
GASTON
In 2007 he was National Champion youngsters, his neighbour Jef Keirsmakers was 2nd, both of them were way ahead of the rest of pigeon country number 1.
But Gaston is frustrated, since only now he gets the credits he deserves since long.
In the past he performed just as well with only a handful of birds but that was at short distance and short distance champs do not hit the media, certainly not if they race very few birds.
Only in 1999 he switched over to middle distance and in 2003 he participated the National long distance races for the first time.
One year later he was 6th National Champion, in 2007 he was primus.
And you know what?
This man never spent one cent on pigeons.
Those birds that beat a whole nation for the championships were the off spring of birds that he had got from un known local guys, late breeds in most cases.
'Never import old birds or early breeds' is his slogan.
Nobody will sell birds that have proven to be good, unless for a crazy price.
In the fall fanciers do not need babies off their best for their own use, so that is the best time to import new blood.
Recently he was successful with descendants of:
- A 1998 cock that he traded as a baby.
- A handful of birds that he got from a local who quit in 1999.
- And also in 1999 he got a bird from a friend that was 1st Ace sprint as a youngster. He could get it since this man only raced youngsters.
That is just part of the story. In fact he was successful with nearly all birds that he imported.
'Was it so easy to become a champion?' my visitors asked.
'Not that easy', I said, 'I only talked about the pigeons so far'.
'Then tell us more' they begged and so I did.
MORE GASTON STUFF
- He weans the babies when they are 16 to 18 days old. Then he puts them on the floor, thus all old birds will pump all babies and the babies will eat themselves sooner.
- The young cocks are darkened from mid March till the end of May; the hens that are raced longer (in September) are darkened 2 weeks longer. 'Darkening time' is from 6.00 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- The birds that were responsible for winning the National Championship were hens.
- For Belgian standards he starts to train and race his babies pretty late. In May they get 5 tosses from 3 to 30 kilometres, after that he trains them with the club (2 times 100 and 2 times 200 kilometres) and then all is set for the longer distances.
During the racing season he does not toss any more.
Every two weeks there is a National from 500 to 600 kilometres. In between, the birds are basketed for a short 100 or 200 kilometre flight.
- Babies that throw their first flight soon can move. He finds those are poor birds.
- Youngsters may eat as much as they like both in the morning and in the evening.
- It is very important to prevent the hens from laying eggs.
- The love for their territory is the drive for a bird to make it home fast. Take his best youngster in 2007.
It constantly wanted to enter a nest box that was not hers, but Gaston kept it closed until the day she was basketed for Gueret.
She won 18th National. His second bird in that race he had given another partner since her own cock was moulting heavily and therefore too cool.
- The young hens get old cocks as a partner and vice versa. Only the cocks may be on eggs for 5 days. From then on he races both sexes separated.
National Champion 2007, v d Wouwer, in the middle.
INTERESTING
'Hmmm. Very interesting' Casanova said, adding 'from now on I stop paying crazy prices for pigeons'.
Then I showed him a good bird that I got for free and when I saw how he handled it I knew he would never ever make it.
And I also knew he would buy pigeons till the day he died.
One year later I met them again and I was right; he could not stop buying.
She said:
'We bought a round of cheap babies from a man that is not famous but who races super and we will follow Gaston's method and your advice.
This should work, shouldn't it?
'Maybe', I said, adding 'maybe'.
'The point is you forgot to buy one thing.'
'And what is that?' she wanted to know.
'The handler from whom you bought the birds' I said.
For a moment no one talked, and then the beauty moaned: 'This world is not fair.'
'Right' I said, looking at her legs one more time.