As I approached the red light, and stopped at the line, I saw that a pigeon stood inside the light-shade circle. Aside from causing a pigeon-shaped silhouette against the red light, it was a pigeon with many white feathers, thus rather easy to spot. I grinned at the pigeon, for it amused me. I wondered how long it had been sitting there, and whether it thought anything about the light turning on and off.

Then the light turned green, and I laughed out loud: there was another (regulation grayish-black) pigeon sitting in front of the green light. And then, as I started across the intersection, I laughed even more because I saw there was a third pigeon inside the yellow light.

At the next light eastward, a little while ago, I had noticed a pigeon on a nest built in a yellow light. (I think that nesting pigeon might also have had some white feathers.) I wonder if this is some sort of pigeon cultural trend.

copyright 2003 carrie lynn king.