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A View Of Columbus Through Rose-Colored Glasses
This article is dedicated to acknowledging the examples of positives that express the community spirit of Columbus — our town.
The night before Easter, there was a disturbing sound in the hallway leading into our bedroom. I listened for a moment, then called out to Bob, “what do I hear?”
Whispering, I told him that there was someone in the hall. It didn’t take another warning to rouse him. He quickly got out of bed and just as quickly disappeared into the hall. It sounded as though the intruder was gone. Since it was just after midnight, I rolled over into a deep slumber.
About 6 hours later, I realized that Bob had never returned. It’s great to know how much one can trust a partner in the middle of the night.
Our next conversation was when he prepared to leave for the Easter Sunrise Service. Before he left, I questioned a bit about the disturbance during the night. The answer seemed strange when he responded “oh, it was just a bunch of birds. I’ll explain later.”
In his freshly starched shirt, he was out the door with guitar to the Easter Sunrise Service. At this point, I realized that he had never been back to bed. No sleep before two Easter Services.
I calculated the mystery episode had lasted six hours and I couldn’t quite grasp what birds had to do with it. Having been afraid of birds all my life after being flogged by a setting hen as a child, I was very anxious for his details.
So here is the scoop. The imagined intruder amounted to 31 birds that had come down the chimney into my den room, my bathroom, Bob’s bathroom, and the dining room. Bob’s improvised plan of action for catch and release outside involved his fishing net and a step ladder to reach the top of 14-foot ceilings.
This successful venture did not injure one bird; the evacuation of the birds was very stealthy because our dog Beamer and I slept through the whole thing. There was one more bird discovered in my den room the next day and it too was safely removed and released unharmed.
It had been wedged in a twoinch gap between two panes of glass so Bob had to change to a more flexible cast net to fit down between the two panes of glass to give the bird something to curl his feet around so it could be lifted out.
Next Easter, we hope to enjoy bunnies and colored eggs.
