Quiz #43. Sorry Seagulls
Would you put this photo on your iPhone case--and why am I apologizing to seagulls after almost 60 years? Steve's Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz for May 1, 2020
I grew up on Long Island. My grandparents had a house in Hampton Bays--long before that became a haven for the rich and famous.
I actually don’t remember much about that house. My grandmother Adele sold it in the early 1960’s when I was just 5 or 6 so my memories live on in slides from my father and in his memories and those of my older sisters, Ginny and Susan.
For my father, Bob, Hampton Bays was part of an idyllic life--and something that always brought him comfort in his later years when he was confined to a senior facility and looking back on his life.
My grandmother Adele in front of the Hampton Bays house.
My father, Bob, on the left. They named their cars. This was the “Silver Streak.”
My father and mother, Bob and Jeanne, at the Hampton Bays house, circa 1953.
For my sisters and older cousins, their memories of Hampton Bays are much more pronounced. In 2012, at a birthday party for my father, we recreated a photo taken on the outside steps of that house when I was just 4 months old.
All older than me, they each remembered the layout and different things they’d done on those steps and at the house. I did not.
Me, as a baby, being held by my cousin Bill in July, 1957. I was 5 months old.
The photo “recreated” with cousins Bill and Bebe plus Ginny, Susan and Richard in 2012.
My father took a picture of me as a toddler at Hampton Bays--and I’ve always loved the image. As those who know me will attest, I am a big fan of Shutterfly. They run sales all the time for “free” products--and I used to order them all the time until Sara observed that the shipping and handling fees were, well, not exactly free.
Shutterfly had a sale once on iPhone cases so I ordered an iPhone case with this image. I was thinking I would give it to one of the kids as a present. Sara told me that would be odd so I put the iPhone case in a drawer where it sat for more than a year. At the time, I used a Mophie case for my phone which also charged the phone. When it wore out, I needed an iPhone case so turned to the one from Shutterfly with the picture of me from Hampton Bays.
It would bring me comfort, but it was odder still--and none more so than when I was going through airport security and the attendant asked me if the little boy on my phone was my grandson. I lied and told her that it was while Sara gave me “the look.”
Oh well.
The Hampton Bays house was on the water and had a small dock in the back. One of my most distinct memories of Hampton Bays is getting pinned on that dock by a swarm of dive-bombing seagulls. I don’t remember how it happened, whether I had food in my hands or if I was alone--but I have a very distinct memory of being scared out of my mind by the seagulls. I could not have been more than 4 years old--and the fear is what I remember.
And so it is, nearly 60 years later, on a Friday morning in the middle of a pandemic, that I must say, ”Sorry seagulls.”
Let me explain.
In Quiz #42. Out of Stock, I went off on state birds, reprising a rant that first surfaced with me 19 years ago when I did a jigsaw puzzle with my daughter Betsy and discovered that the Cardinal is the state bird of 7 different states. Shouldn’t it be one bird, one state? Like me, didn’t you always think that it was?
Well, I got more than a few responses from that state bird quiz. Adam, a good friend from TV news who now lives and works in Ohio, emailed me.
Legit learned something here about the cardinal. Had no clue. And in Ohio — it’s the cardinal and I always thought it was impressive, surprising and notable that of all 50 states, Ohio was chosen to have the cardinal?!!
Love it.
Erica, my daughter-in-law, became my first reader to use the 5-star rating system to leave me a comment and correction. She correctly pointed out that the Robin, the state bird of Michigan where Erica lives with Ted and their daughters Turner and Marin, is NOT the state bird of 2 states (Michigan and Wisconsin) as I had indicated in Quiz #42. Out of Stock.
The robin is the state bird of THREE states. Even more infuriating!
I went to Google to double-check myself--and to find out which was the third state for the Robin. (It’s Connecticut.)
I also discovered several sites dedicated to state birds, including one on Insider.com
Going through this official list, I began looking at the state birds and discovered that I had made a second mistake in Quiz #42. Out of Stock. (I am tired.) I had misread the jigsaw puzzle (imagine that)--the state bird of Missouri is NOT the Eastern Goldfinch. It’s the Eastern Bluebird which is also the state bird of New York. (The Eastern Goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa and New Jersey--and I still maintain that once it hits a place like Iowa, it should be called the “Midwestern” Goldfinch.)
I soon found myself headed to the listing for Utah. I’d always wondered why Utah had claimed the Seagull as its state bird. I found out two things. First, the official name of the Seagull is “California Gull”--and that’s how it’s listed on the Insider site in the state-by-state listing of birds.
Why is the “California Gull” the state bird of Utah?
Then I found out that there is actually a site dedicated to the symbols of all 50 states. (It’s not just for the birds.) It’s called the StateSymbolsUSA. The mission statement is kind of inspiring.
State Symbols USA is dedicated to promoting appreciation and conservation of our natural, historic, and cultural treasures through an interactive website providing information on state and nationalsymbols & icons, cities, towns, parks, landmarks, historic markers, and historic and iconic figures.
When I clicked through on that site, I discovered that the Seagull has a rich place in the Mormon history of Utah.
As indicated, there’s even a “Seagull Monument” in Utah with an inscription describing how important the bird was to the people of that state.
Photo by Ellen MacDonald from Flickr
The Mormon pioneers planted crops in the spring of 1848, after suffering great hunger during their first winter in the Salt Lake Valley. As the crops ripened, hordes of devouring crickets descended upon them from the foothills east of the valley. The Saints fought them with clubs, fire, and water. As they despaired of saving the next winter's food, their prayers for deliverance from almost sure starvation were answered when thousands of sea gulls came to feed on the crickets. The Sea Gull Monument commemorates this modern-day miracle. The sea gull is now the Utah State bird.
And so, on this Friday morning, I simply say, “Sorry Seagulls.”
What does any of this have to do with the coronavirus and marking the end of the 8th week of my working from home? Not a damn thing--except it’s my “day off,” everyone else in the house is busy actually working from home and I hope you’ll be amused by my rant.
My brother sent me a series of texts this morning:
Julie was bitching at me about how crabby I’ve been about work …
Then she read me your essay this AM. We laughed at the Cardinal stuff and had Googled the red situation just a few days ago.
Very funny.
What did not happen?
A. In the spirit of corrections, in Quiz #28. Shakespeare, I told you how my friend Tim had bought me a t-shirt with an image of Shakespeare and the words, “This shit writes itself.” Tim read the quiz and emailed me to say, “Nice story, though I have no memory of buying you that shirt;”
B. In his email, Tim said, “A prime example of why old farts like us should write stuff down;”
C. I added Laurie, Tim’s wife, to the email chain. I had remembered that she’d asked me my size (2X) before ordering the shirt, but she replied that she too had no memory of them buying me the shirt;
D. I turned to Sara, but she had no recollection but always thought that Tim and Laurie had bought the shirt for me because that’s what I said every time I wore it;
E. I checked my order history on Amazon. I ordered the Shakespeare shirt for myself on May 1, 2017. 3 years ago today, at the end of my recovery from brain surgery. Sorry Tim and Laurie. Sorry Shakespeare. Sorry Seagulls.
Sometimes, this shit does write itself. Thank you Shakespeare. Thank you Tim. Thank you Laurie.
Want the answer?
Answer #43. Sorry Seagulls, May 1, 2020
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Want more?
Here’s the next quiz in the series: Quiz #44. Large.
Here’s the previous quiz in the series: Quiz #42. Out of Stock.
Here’s the first quiz in the series: Quiz #1. Stella and Social Distancing, March 13, 2020
Here is an archive of all the quizzes.
The quiz is explained here: Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz.
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