[TN-Bird] Fw: FW: ....Amazing true duck story]
- From: "Jesse Livingston" <fernj1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Judy Livingston" <josephklivingston@xxxxxxxxx>, "Jan Storey Parker" <janstoreysawmill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "tn bird" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:59:01 -0500
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I got this from a friend in Reno this morning and thought I would share =
it. Since tn-bird wlll not support graphics, if anyone wants to see the =
photos, they can send me an email to fernj1@xxxxxxxxxxx and I will =
forward the entire message with its charming photos to them. These are =
good clear pictures of the heart warming type.
Jesse Livingston
Troy, TN
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Subject: Fw: ....Amazing true duck story
=20
Amazing duck story!
Something really amazing happened in Downtown Spokane this week =
and I had to share the story with you.=20
Some of you may know that my brother, Joel, is a loan officer at =
Sterling Bank. He works downtown in a=20
second story office building, overlooking busy Riverside Avenue . =
Several weeks ago he watched a mother=20
duck choose the cement awning outside his window as the uncanny =
place to build a nest above the sidewalk.=20
The mallard laid nine eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter =
that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She=20
dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks and Monday afternoon all of =
her nine ducklings hatched.
Joel worried all night how the mamma duck was going to get those =
babies safely off their perch in a busy,=20
downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically =
happens in the first 48 hours of a duck=20
hatching. Tuesday morning, Joel came to work and watched the =
mother duck encourage her babies to the=20
edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off!=20
The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies =
above. In his disbelief Joel watched as the=20
first fuzzy newborn toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt =
into thin air, crashing onto the cement below.=20
My brother couldn't watch how this might play out. He dashed out =
of his office and ran down the stairs the=20
sidewalk where the first obedient duckling was stuporing near its =
mother from the near fatal fall.=20
Joel looked up. The second duckling was getting ready to jump! He =
quickly dodged under the awning while the=20
mother duck quacked at him and the babies above. As the second one =
took the plunge, Joel jumped forward=20
and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the cement. Safe =
and sound, he set it by the mamma and the other=20
stunned sibling, still recovering from its painful leap.=20
One by one the babies continued to jump to join their anxious =
family below. Each time Joel hid under the=20
awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made =
its free fall. The downtown sidewalk came=20
to a standstill. Time after time, Joel was able to catch the =
remaining 7 and set them by their approving mother.=20
At this point Joel realized the duck family had only made part of =
its dangerous journey. They had 2 full blocks=20
to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs, and pedestrians to get =
to the closest open water, the Spokane River=20
The onlooking office secretaries then joined in, and hurriedly =
brought an empty copy paper box to collect the=20
babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother's approval, =
and loaded them up into the white cardboard=20
container. Joel held the box low enough for the mom to see her =
brood. He then slowly navigated through the=20
downtown streets toward the Spokane River , as the mother waddled =
behind and kept her babies in sight.=20
As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, =
jumping into the river and quacking loudly.=20
At the water's edge, the Sterling Bank office staff then tipped =
the box and helped shepherd the babies toward=20
the water and to their mother after their adventurous ride.
All nine darling ducklings safely made it into the water and =
paddled up snugly to mamma duck. Joel said the=20
mom swam in circles, looking back toward the beaming bank workers, =
and proudly quacking as if to say,=20
'See, we did it! Thanks for all the help!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
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