10/26/04 Report: "The Story of Senor"

AC and I took a hike up to Bass Lake (Marin County) yesterday.  The
scenery was mild.  At Alamere Falls we came across little
Señor sitting in the sand. He couldn't move although
he tried to when I approached him. I figured he had a
broken part somewhere and that it would be best to
take him back to somewhere he could recuperate in
safety. I wrapped him in my sweatshirt and carried
him the 5 miles back to the car.  We fed him some
chips and poured some water down his throat.  He was
really, really hungry.  It was well after dark when we
got to the bird sanctuary out north of Bolinas.  The
folks there said it looked like he had botcholism,
which seagulls get from eating  garbage and which
paralyzes them.  They typically starve or get devoured
by predators.  They said they couldn't take injured
birds and sheepishly suggested we kill him or else
just put him back on the beach.  They also advised us
to wash our hands after the whole thing was done.  We
didn't feel much like running over the little guy with
the car, or wringing his snowy little neck.  So we
drove down to Bolinas and carried Señor down to the
mournful beach.  He was about to start his final
journey on Earth.  I set him down near a piece of
driftwood and he looked like a normal, healthy
seagull.  The strong black wind ruffled his white
feathers and he did not turn his head to watch me go. 



photo: TB