WorldWide Drilling Resource

74 DECEMBER 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Through the Front Door! by Jim Kuebelbeck Pigeons Part 2 Every minute of my free time during the next two weeks was spent building a chicken wire enclosure high up in the barn behind one of the previously sealed cut- out openings. To my surprise, even my dad said I had done a good construction job. Some days later during school recess I ran over to “pigeon king” with my two dollars and a big burlap sack I had taken from Dad’s granary. He told me he would catch a few of them, and I could pick them up the next evening. I was overjoyed. From the smile on his face he seemed to be about as happy as I was. I didn’t learn the real reason for his smile until about six weeks later. (Unbeknownst to me, he and my dad had been in collusion behind the scenes about teaching this young super smart boy a lesson in life.) My dad offered to pick me up after school the next afternoon and bring my newly purchased treasures back to our farm. I almost couldn’t wait to get home to see what the bulging, wiggling burlap sack contained. With my dad’s help, we hoisted up the sack of pigeons and released them into their newly constructed home. Among the six beautifully colored pigeons dumped out of the sack was the nicest speckled colored one I had often seen flying around our school in town. What a great day! The days which followed were spent keeping them well fed and supplied with freshwater. After about a week of keeping the floor clean every day, I realized some of my dad’s previous words about “pigeons being dirty” might have some merit after all! But I was determined to show my dad my “pigeon research” would prove to him I knew what I was doing! After about two weeks, those pigeons had become so accustomed to their new home, I had them actually eating out of my hand when I fed them. How great was that?! I then decided I would “condition” them for one more week and then release them to their new surroundings on our dairy farm. I decided to choose a Saturday morning for the great release, so I could personally witness the spectacle of their first flights of freedom around their new home. After doing my chores, I opened the small door on the outside of the barn and quickly ran outside to watch their exit to freedom. It took a few minutes for them to realize there was a new opening to their cage, but one by one they all flew out to look over their new world. They flew all around our farmyard a number of times in ever widening circles (seeming to get their bearings) and it was indeed a sight to behold. They flew over the barn, the house, the windmill. and over the grove. I had succeeded! My plan worked! I was amazed at my accomplishment. What happened next, however, was more than demoralizing. The last I saw of those pigeons was their tail feathers as they immediately headed back to their original place of birth in town! I never said a word to my dad at the time, but the next day he noticed the cage was empty and asked if the pigeons had somehow escaped. He wasn’t exactly smiling, but I’m sure he knew what had happened. There was nothing smart I could say, so I simply told him I let them out and the darn things flew away. Adding insult to injury, the next day at school recess I saw that speckled pigeon once again flying grace- fully over the schoolyard! Another life lesson learned, thanks to my late father. The statements and comments in this article are based on information and ref- erences believed to be true and factual. If you have any questions or comments, please forward them to me in care of WWDR . Jim michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com !+34# 0/4#/# 2 #,'23(+'-& ((+%' 0& '/&'230/ 2#/ '/&'230/ $+4%0+/%20& *04.#+- %0. 777 $+4%0+/% 53 '7 3'& +43 0-' 1'/'23 2#) +43 "+/)3 #..'23 #..'2 +43 +6'24'23 ' 4+11+/) 4#$+-+8'23 -#7 +43 +1' "+1'3 0-4 0/ ''4* 5$3