Fly Away - Tom Castaldi (best authors to read TXT) 📗

want to give him a nice meal before he leaves. After tending to the bird, I took a small piece of paper approximately one inch by three inches. On the paper I wrote the following; my name is Tom Castaldi and I live in Brooklyn. I found this bird a couple weeks ago. He was sick and I took care of him. I also jotted down my telephone number and said when the bird comes home give me a call.

I rolled the paper as tight and as small as I could. I stuck the rolled document in my pocket. I went to the basement and retrieved the bird. The walk to the park was a long one. It is a mile to the park. There were plenty of good open areas where I could let the bird go. He was in great shape and I really felt he would succeed in making it back to his home loft.

I removed the bird from the cage and held it just like Joe had taught me. I retrieved the rolled up note and slipped it in the bird’s band. It was lodged between the bird’s leg and the band. It was a tight fit and I was positive it would not slip out. I held the bird and faced it in the direction of New Jersey and let it go.

The bird seemed to have trouble gaining altitude at first. Within a short span of time, he was flying in a circle around me. He went faster each time he passed me. The circles were getting wider and wider. Before long, he was flying straight in the direction of New Jersey. Within a minute or so, he was out of sight.
I can’t explain the feeling I had watching the bird fly away. I really felt a sense of pride.


I made the long walk home. The cage was much lighter and easier without the bird. I put the cage in the backyard and cleaned it. I figured I should hear something soon.
I wanted to stay close to the telephone in case I got the call. I figured I’d return the cage to Joe in the morning.

I waited and waited for a call but nothing happened that night. I stayed around the house till almost noon the next day. Still no call came. I decided to go and return the cage and what little feed I had left.

I arrived at the pet shop a little after noon. I had the cage and a little bag of feed. Joe greeted me and was pleased I returned the cage. I placed the cleaned cage on his counter along with the bag of feed. He told me to take what was left in the bag and feed the birds in the cages in the back of the store. There were four big cages in the back and there were all kinds of pigeons. I threw a handful in each and went to the front of the store to tell Joe what had happened.

Joe told me the bird most likely made it back home safe. He said, sometimes people don’t want to go out of their way no matter how nice you are to them.
He said, “ You did something very special for the bird, that is what really counts.” It made me feel better and in my mind, I still hoped I would get a call.

I handed him five dollars for the feed and medication. He told me not to worry it was on him. I was thrilled for in those times it took a long time to save that much money.

As I left the pet shop, I passed by the window. As usual I could see Joe shaking his head and smiling. The days and weeks rolled by and I never received a call. I felt a sense of pride knowing I did a good thing. Thinking about it today, I am convinced he made it home.

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Publication Date: 06-06-2012

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