TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Buzzards May Offer More Hope Than The Birds Running For President

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEVE OTTO

sotto@tampatrib.com

Published: October 19, 2008

The invitation was for lunch at one of those private downtown clubs. I'm not much for those, if only because I don't like the 40-story ride up in the elevator to eat in a place where the prices fit the elevator ride.

This one was in the same building where our financial planner works. I say that loosely because there aren't that many finances left to plan with, but I hadn't heard from him in a while and figured I'd better stop by to see if he was out on a ledge.

He seemed happy enough to see me and came out of the closet where he had been crouching. He pushed a few papers around on his desk so that it would look like they were still doing business and offered me a free calendar. I peered over his shoulder and out the window, which had a great view of the Big Guava spread out below. That's when I noticed they were back.

Are You Looking At Me?

Across from his office on a nearby tower, half a dozen buzzards perched in a row, staring directly at us. "Isn't that a little disconcerting?" I asked. "They're not so bad," he said. "At least they aren't calling me every fifteen minutes like some of our clients wondering what to do."

Actually, I wasn't all that put off by the buzzards. In fact, it's just about that time of year, although they usually begin showing up around the first week in November and soar around the city's towers all winter.

I'm told these are the same turkey vultures who fly up to Hinckley, Ohio, every spring, where the locals have a Buzzard Day complete with bands and food festivals. This year the town, about 20 miles outside of Cleveland, celebrated its 50th such event with a pancake and sausage breakfast at Buzzard Roost, where the birds settle in for the summer.

It was my friend Bob Bishop, who used to work in one of these buildings, who first came up with the idea that Tampa was missing a bet.

Buzzardilla?

If Hinckley could have a Buzzard Day, why shouldn't Tampa cash in with an autumn buzzard festival of its own. Bishop went so far as to rent out a room in one of the tower clubs, dress up like a buzzard and host a reception to get the ball rolling.

That was about 10 years ago, and as far as I can tell, neither the chamber nor civic boosters have latched on to this one.

Too bad. If the Rays brought the World Series here and with the Super Bowl returning in January, a buzzard festival would fit right in.

My guess is that most people just don't understand buzzards or appreciate the services they perform that too many of us would not do at any price. Some people might also see the buzzards sitting there, staring down on the rest of us, and see it as some kind of omen.

That's just not fair. You can't lay the current recession at the feet or claws or whatever of the buzzards. There are other, more sinister critters who lurk in those skyscrapers of our cities who are more to blame than these graceful birds.

I have to admit that the same day I saw the first buzzard was the night the Rays blew that seven-run lead in Boston, the stock market plunged a few hundred more points and I burned dinner when my wife had to stay late at school for conference night.

But I say give the buzzards a chance. I think they are an omen that good things are about to happen. The Rays might win the World Series. In a couple of weeks, the presidential elections will mercifully be over. Even if the recession deepens, people might start staying home and talking to each other again. I say to the buzzards, welcome home; just don't perch on my porch.

Keyword, Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto's blog.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT