The Great Pigeon Caper (Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church)

Illustration by Catherine Latson

The Great Pigeon Caper: Round One
by Charlotte Johnstone

Forbearance’s pigeon caper began several weeks after Myra Kinney’s son, George, presented his mother with a telescope—a fine, shiny thing mounted on a tripod. Myra lived in a sixth-floor apartment in a high-rise building on the other side of a small pond adjacent to Forbearance’s parking lot and, as George reasoned, now that Myra’s 84-year-old legs prevented her from getting out much, the telescope would add a new dimension to her newly confined life. Myra, an avid birder in her former years would, he thought, enjoy a close-up view of the pond’s ducks and other assorted wildlife.

For her part, Myra was delighted with her new toy and spent many hours zooming in on ducks paddling, ducks nesting and ducks being, well, ducks. After several weeks, however, ducks being creatures of habit and therefore pretty much the same day after day, her duck watching began to pall. She figured out how the telescope’s swiveling mechanism worked and discovered that she could, without detection, peer into other apartments across her courtyard for close-ups of wildlife of a different nature altogether. It was a revelation, this newfound ability to watch people as they cooked, laughed, argued, walked around, came and went, dressed and undressed, lived their lives—better than a soap opera. And it wasn’t too long before she branched out to watching the comings and goings of Forbearance’s members, particularly one day when she saw a small group gathered in the church parking lot, peering up at Forbearance’s bell tower, a modified structure holding one large bell within wooden fretwork framing.

Charlotte Johnstone is a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She (and the cast of Forbearance Presbyterian Church) welcomes comments. Write to her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Some of Charlotte’s most beloved tales from Forbearance are now available in the book, Annie, the Kitchen Queen and Other Dispatches from Forbearance Presbyterian Church. Order through Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS), 800/524-2612 or www.pcusa.org/marketplace; item HZN-06-304, $10.00 plus shipping and handling.

Illustration by Catherine Latson

Other Articles Online This Issue


What does this group of Forbearance members have planned for the bell tower? And will their plan affect Myra's covert watching? Find out by reading the full text of this article in the March/April 2007 issue of Horizons!	The Great Pigeon Caper: Round One by Charlotte Johnstone Forbearance’s pigeon caper began several weeks after Myra Kinney’s son, George, presented his mother with a telescope—a fine, shiny thing mounted on a tripod. Myra lived in a sixth-floor apartment in a high-rise building on the other side of a small pond adjacent to Forbearance’s parking lot and, as George reasoned, now that Myra’s 84-year-old legs prevented her from getting out much, the telescope would add a new dimension to her newly confined life. Myra, an avid birder in her former years would, he thought, enjoy a close-up view of the pond’s ducks and other assorted wildlife. For her part, Myra was delighted with her new toy and spent many hours zooming in on ducks paddling, ducks nesting and ducks being, well, ducks. After several weeks, however, ducks being creatures of habit and therefore pretty much the same day after day, her duck watching began to pall. She figured out how the telescope’s swiveling mechanism worked and discovered that she could, without detection, peer into other apartments across her courtyard for close-ups of wildlife of a different nature altogether. It was a revelation, this newfound ability to watch people as they cooked, laughed, argued, walked around, came and went, dressed and undressed, lived their lives—better than a soap opera. And it wasn’t too long before she branched out to watching the comings and goings of Forbearance’s members, particularly one day when she saw a small group gathered in the church parking lot, peering up at Forbearance’s bell tower, a modified structure holding one large bell within wooden fretwork framing. *Charlotte Johnstone* is a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She (and the cast of Forbearance Presbyterian Church) welcomes comments. Write to her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Some of Charlotte’s most beloved tales from Forbearance are now available in the book, Annie, the Kitchen Queen and Other Dispatches from Forbearance Presbyterian Church. Order through Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS), 800/524-2612 or www.pcusa.org/marketplace; item HZN-06-304, $10.00 plus shipping and handling. Illustration by Catherine Latson Other Articles Online This Issue Too Close for Comfort Psalms of Lament Preparing for a Death in the Family Death with Dignity Animals Are People, Too Installation Service for Presbyterian Women Dispatch from Forbearance Unconventional Grace Nurturing Our Faith Supporting Mission Mosaic Health Connections	Current Issue March/April 2007 About This Issue Features PW Resources Departments FREE Resource Mar/Apr Index How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the March/April 2007 (HZN-07-210) issue of Horizons magazine. to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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