Pigeon Post

[Christopher Challen]

Percy the pigeon has returned to our garden once again. Observing Percy gives me great pleasure and has prompted me to think about the numerous other species trying to survive out there.

If humans are fashioned in the image of god then other species - pigeons included - must therefore be made in the image of their gods. Thus we can take an informed guess as to what their gods look like.

In the great alembic of life some 8.7 million species have so far been identified. This indicates that there are a great number of gods out there looking after things. But what happens should a species become extinct? What would god do if homo-sapiens inadvertently became extinct - do you think god would design a Marque II homo sapiens to keep him or herself amused?

But I digress. Let’s return to the subject of pigeons. Pigeons are territorial and this makes me wonder if they might have political tendencies. I say this because politicians, like pigeons, constantly dispute regarding territory. I sometimes wonder if the Black Books have got it all wrong, and that politicians (despite the colour of their plumage) have their own personal god whose job it is to keep them at each other’s throats. But let’s give them a break, like the gods who guide them, they’re just defending their patch and searching for a crust like everyone else.

I’m just as confused as our religious leaders regarding the homo-sapien’s god. I hesitate to make the assumption that homo-sapiens all share the same god, this is because religious leaders seem to differ greatly in their opinion as to what their god stands for - sometimes being diametrically opposed regarding what they consider good and what they consider evil.

Whilst on this subject of good and evil, I have often wondered if opposing military factions pray to the same god for victory over their enemies. These opposing factions surely aren't silly enough to believe that a well-meaning and balanced god would take sides - surely this would be as absurd as asking a casino manager to help you win the jackpot. However, politicians must have realised by now that having a partisan god to look after their interests is vital to success - similar to having your own boxing promoter to take the slog out of arranging fights.

It seems to me that there are numerous mischievous gods lurking out there, stirring up strife at every possible opportunity. But this also has its plus side. With wars safely in the hands of the gods, politicians can sit back in their warm carpeted offices with a generous glass of scotch whisky and let their troops get on with the grafting. These days you won’t see anybody higher than a general getting their Stuart Weitzman crocodile skin boots muddy, or covered in pigeon guano for that matter.

But I have digressed again. If the animal kingdom - like the human kingdom - is based on one-god one species, then there must be billions of gods out there, so it’s no wonder they’re territorial.

I do hope this throws some much needed light on the English pigeon.

P.S. I do wish our English pigeons had similar brain power to those used by Noah. We know that Noah's pigeons were superior because he used them to determine how far the flood waters had receded. It’s a great pity English pigeons have lost this skill as it would be particularly helpful in our current rainy climate - is there no beginning or end to it all.

[Mim Golub Scalin]

I feel a great affinity towards pigeons. Maybe because my family name means pigeon. I saw a wonderful exhibit on pigeons many years ago at the Musée de la Poste in Paris - how they carried the post, and were important during the siege of Paris and the WWs. I, also, have a lovely book about pigeons but it doesn't have photos which I would have liked, oh well. Some times, we have a pair of mourning doves show up in our garden. Once, a pair made a nest on a side window sill but a predator got to it. And doves, pigeons, never nested their again. I have a small watercolor piece made by dosanko debbie, which I purchased from her a long time ago, actually July of 2012. Wow, ten years ago almost. I'd add it here but I can't get it to upload. Thanks for writing about pigeons. and adding in that bit about Scotch whisky, it's about to storm here. so we might pour ourselves some whiskey and watch the storm move in. Best wishes to you. 

Mim

Circle and Square groups-originator

[Ilya Semenenko-Basin]

I recall that the pigeon is often mentioned in the Bible, beginning with the passage:

Leviticus 1:14
But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the turtledoves or from young pigeons.