[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

British birds and a thank you




Hi Carolinabirders,
	Will Cook please be patient there will be some birds mentioned including a
thread (albeit a thin one)to the Carolinas.
Many of you know that before I retired and moved to SC I worked in N.Y.C.
Actually only about a mile and a half (as the eagle flies) from the World
Trade Center,  which you could see from any of the south facing upper
floors of the school I taught in for 30 years. It was interesting to see
the twin towers being built in the early 70's. My daughter currently works
in Manhattan, she is safe as she works in midtown. She is, however,
saddened by the news that two of her friends, bright young men in their
late 20's are among the missing. I only know of them as Sean and "haze".
They worked for a company named Cantor-Firzgerald and only a few of the 800
people working in that company has survived this criminal deed.  
	My son is a civilian employee of the Dept. of the Navy at the Naval Air
Engineering Center in Lakehurst, N.J. I expect he will be very busy in the
days and weeks to come. I know he will do a good job.
	A month ago my wife and I visited the British Isles, fullfilling our wish
to someday visit the countries of our ancestors.  She is half Irish and I
am English on my father's side and Irish on my mother's. It was a wonderful
trip and I saw some birds: Jackdaw, Wood Pigeon, Common Martin and lots of
Black-headed Gulls, a species I have seen once in NJ and once in SC. It is
much rarer on this side of the "pond". I saw others and hope to identify
them soon.
	A highlight of our tour was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Yesterday the ceremony was changed. Instead of the "new guard replacing the
old guard" the Queen ordered the Coldstream Guard to enter united.  With
the American Ambassador and members of the royal family and thousands of
tourists they marched to the gates of the Palace playing "the Stars and
Stripes Forever". They followed with our National Anthem and observed three
minutes of silence.  It was very moving.
	In the paper this morning there was a list of the nationalities of those
missing and presumed dead in the attacks in NYC, the pentagon and in
Pennsylvania. 
That list numbered 18 nations.  It is estimated that almost 10% of those
killed will be British nationals.  May all the victims rest in peace.

God save the Queen.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Jack





Jack Peachey
Conway, SC