Not A Sparrow Falls
Last week we took Ben and Zach to the Bronx Zoo. None of the Everett-Lane boys had been (myself included) had ever been, and Ben's mad about baboons lately. (Or, as he calls them "Babooo!") And tigers. ("Rrrrrrar!") Our first stop (after looking at the elephants en route) was the Dancing Crane Cafe for lunch. While Debbie was feeding Zach, Ben and I did some exploring outside. "Bir!" he pointed. Behind a drain pipe was a tiny baby sparrow cheeping for its mother and home.
I could see the nest was built in a metal beam about eight feet up. Well, we were at the Wildlife Conservation Society, surely somebody could help. I picked up the bird and started looking for a zookeeper. The best I could do was a security guard, who got me a cup to hold the bird in (according to Debbie you're not supposed to touch them because momma bird will smell you on them and reject the baby) and got the restaurant manager. Of course the restaurant staff knew nothing about dealing with birds but they got a ladder and Ben watched in fascination as three guys attempted to put a tiny baby bird back in its nest.
Afterwards, Ben said "More!" I explained that there were no more baby birds for him to rescue, but that he had done very well helping to save that bird.
Blood on the Highway
Sunday, driving home from Connecticut on 684, I saw a car flip over. It was so fast I'm still not sure what happened. The car was on the shoulder, smoking and broken, and a man was falling climbing out of the passenger side window. "Pull over!" I said to Debbie. "Call 911!" I grabbed a bottle of water and the two first aid kits we keep in the trunk, and ran toward the accident. The passenger I'd seen climb out of the car was lying on the road; a woman was cradling his head. He was bleeding. The driver was standing, looking as if he didn't believe this was happening to him. A lot of cars had pulled over, and five or six people were gathered. "Are you an EMT?" said the woman holding his head. "No, I've just got first aid kits." "Well, I am." I noticed she had latex gloves on and a kit by her side. "Does he need water?" "No, he's got a head wound."
I'm not sure how long I stayed by his side. Thank God the EMT was there. Otherwise I'm not sure I'd have any idea of what to do. I held his head a few times while the EMT talked to 911 on the phone or did something else. Mostly I just talked to him, telling him that help was on the way, everything was going to be all right, all those things you say to people who are bleeding on the side of the road. His eyes were scared. His back hurt. We kept telling him not to move his head. His name is Antonio, he's from Mexico, he has a three-year-old daughter. A man in a polyester shirt and tie came by and asked if he could pray for him, and we said sure, and so he laid his hand on his chest and prayed to Jesus.
The ambulance arrived, on the other side of the highway. It tried to cross the median. It got stuck on the median, in the mud. "I don't believe this," said the EMT. A firetruck showed up to push the ambulance off of the median.
Finally a medical truck pulled up, with on-duty EMTs, who had a board and a collar. I figured that the pros were here, and my usefulness was done. "Do you need me?" I asked the off-duty EMT, and she said I could go. As I stood up I noticed that my knee was bleeding. I'd been kneeling in broken glass without even feeling it.
I cleaned my knee up with the first aid kits. And then we drove home.
| Fowl | Cars |
Congrats on both accounts, though less on the first* — you did the right thing. I am a bit surprised, though, that you did not know the old myth that touching a baby bird or egg will cause the parent(s) to reject it (see, for corroboration, the Michigan Humane Society dope on myths of summer). Then again, you hadn’t yet been to the WCS. ;-)
*Spring is the season when I see barely formed birds dead on the sidewalk in my neighborhood. Only two this year, though I’ve seen more in other years. You know I’m not a social Darwinist, but somehow I see proper Nature working when some birds perish. Of course, we are part of Nature, too, so your saving the fledgling is not wrong, either.
You da man ! Fast thinking on the highway; quite impressive.
Comment #2 :: link :: June 19, 2003 09:00 AMThe Everett-Lanes, saving lives, regardless of species!
I don't know about birds, but I know about car accidents. You did the two most important things you could do: call 911 to activate the emergency medical system and to provide comfort, which was probably much needed and much appreciated.
