The pigeon writer (06-05-2025)
Beautiful weather that May 1st to make my rising headache disappear. And nothing better than in a quiet place in nature. There are plenty of them here. But for a pond surrounded by hardwood, the choice is limited.
Fortunately, I found one: no better place for peace, beauty and especially lots of birds.
LUCKY
I chose the first bench that was free and enjoyed the sun peeking through the crowns, the croaking of frogs and 'sailing' moorhens. However, that jogger who smelled of sweat should have stayed away or walked on.
But what he did was stop at the bench next to the 'mine', put a heel on the armrest and then tried to break himself in half, which unfortunately didn't work.
After him, a young couple took his place and soon I smelled fresh coffee and toast. I closed my eyes and dozed off, but I wasn't given much rest.
I was startled and flew up like a trapeze artist who ended up in the net.
The couple was right next to me. He was a normal person, she so beautiful that the smile she gave me almost made the blood in my veins curdle. Never seen anything so beautiful. And it only got worse when I glance fell casually and unconsciously into the bottomless depth of her decollete. Or was cleavage a better word? I had to cling dizzily to the railing. Planets spun out of their orbits, the headaches became less and a singing blackbird paid tribute to life.
Did all this really happen? Life can be beautiful, it went through me.
How a person can be so mistaken.
NOT STRANGE
Fellow fancier Jan once pointed me to an app 'that was just the thing for me', he thought:
The name: 'Merlin Bird.' It registers the song of birds, you get a photo of the bird plus details.
Between 8 and 17 (different) birds is usually my score, the record is 22.
Now I don't count how many anymore but which ones.
Like more experienced pigeon fanciers do after a bad race. Then it is no longer the number that he misses that counts, but which ones. I was looking at that screen so intensively that I hardly noticed the gentleman had spoken to me. "Hello Mr. A S."
What? A S? How could he know me? He must have guessed my thoughts, because pointed to my cap and said 'the man of those columns in the pigeon press, aren’t you?' When I nodded, there was no stopping him.
FANTASIE OF ?
'Something new in a new collumn every week. How can you manage it? Surely there must be a lot of imagination involved?'
"I never fantasize," I said. 'but I admit, I do often remember things that never happened. That's something completely different.'
Before I could continue, suddenly the tick of a falling acorn.
I had man aged to have taken my eyes off that Divine body for a moment, but now that she wanted to pick it up, she bent over so deeply that I feared that half of her façade would fall out of the package.
If only I were a magician I thought. Then it would rain acorns quite a lot here.
Then the stranger opened his mouth and that brought me back to earth. He also had pigeons and his dream was to write columns as well. 'Like that A S', he would always say to his wife.
He wanted something different. His life became too boring. That was not because of him but because of his family and friends. He had never heard language that completely changes the life of a person. Such as 'You are now under arrest', or 'You are seriously ill' or 'I am leaving you forever'. That had to change. That's why he was happy to see. It always went through his mind: 'If ever I meet that A S I have a few questions for him. And then: 'May I ask a few questions?'
'Sure', I said, 'but if you also get an answer is another story.' But I promised myself to be good to him.
QUESTIONS
I also want to be sharp like you. But do you never have problems?
It's not that bad at all. But with a sharp pen you have to target situations. Attack people only when they ask for it. Realize that everyone is different. Some like to see their name in the media, others don't. And because the writer cannot know who one is and who the other is, I often use initials.
But problems? On about 40 years of writing actually only 4 that I can remember. So one in every 10 years is not too bad, huh.
What do fanciers in general like to read?
That I write positively about them. And, if possible not too positieve about results of their competitors. They like to read that they are such good connoisseurs and have such good pigeons.
I understand that, but otherwise no specific topic?
Yes, even a very specific one. Pigeon fanciers like to read about medicines. Because many of them just can't accept that their pigeons don't perform because they don't have quality. It is always the violin or the bow. Never the violinist.
What exactly do you mean?
Some always have excuses ready after a bad result. It is always something else, never themselves. It's the location, an unfavorable wind, the place in the trucks, others have a secret that they don't have, and so on.
Is there anything you should watch out for?
Yes. You may have a problem if you get along well with two fellow fanciers who can't stand each other. If you write positively about one, it can go down the wrong way with the other.
Is there a certain kind of reader you should watch out for?
Pretty many fanciers cannot read well. They read things that never occurred in the writer's head.
Doesn't money destroy the sport?
Not at all. There are countless examples of fanciers without money who became great champions. And also of crazy rich guys who are good businessmen, got more money through their hobby, but who never made it in the competitions. You know one of my mantras. 'With money you can buy a beautiful and expensive dog. But not the wagging of his tail.'
Thanks Mr. A S. I need to think.
