Saving A Life

I attempted to save a life today. It is, however, unconfirmed as to whether or not I was successful. I was trudging back to the hotel in the light snowfall, happy to realize I no longer had Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row” stuck in my head. I woke up thinking of the song for no apparent reason but wasn’t particularly bothered by it; I just didn’t think Bob Dylan belonged in London. Instead, a much more fitting Beatles tune, “Norwegian Wood” found a home in my subconscious. Humming the tune to myself, I walked through an open park, making one of only a few tracks in the recently accumulated white slush.

Looking around at the London skyline as much as possible, I almost dismissed a large group of birds on my right side in the grass. I’ve seen plenty of birds in America, and pigeons certainly were nothing special. But among the pigeons were two large, black birds - presumably crows. The pigeons were numerous and were going about their pecking as if they didn’t notice the others. I noticed, however, that one crow was making violent heaving motions on the ground. Spasming, the crow lurched up and down at random intervals, while the other crow looked on as if keeping guard.

I inched closer to confirm my suspicions and blinked the thick snow out of my eyelashes. The crow was indeed pecking, attacking, and killing a small pigeon under its feet. The pigeon, still alive, was constantly struggling but could do nothing against the might of the black bird. I resisted the sadistic urge to whip out the camera and tape it (mostly because I didn’t have a great view of the scene) and leapt forward onto the grass. The assumed grateful bird hobbled off in a flurry of newly red feathers. The stunned crow hesitated an extra moment before he too took off with his buddy in the direction of the wounded pigeon. I had and still have hope for that pigeon; if only because he had a head start on the other ones. I did snap a picture of blood-red snow mixed with downy feathers before I left...Is that weird?