It has been a while since I've had something to bitch about. Until today, that is.
The Long Island Rail Road station at Hicksville has long had a pigeon problem. Scores of them roost on wires, pipes, lamps, and just about any nook and cranny they can find. And the reason that is a problem is because the pigeons are pooping all over the place. Heedless commuters walking to and fro underneath the elevated track are unwitting targets for pigeon droppings that might fall on them. In some areas where the pigeons cluster, the droppings are literally piling up on the pavement below them. Not only is it disgusting, it is also a potential health hazard.
Admittedly, the train station is a convenient place for the pigeons to find shelter. But that is not the only thing that draws them there, as I discovered. Another reason why the train station serves as a magnet for the pigeons is because there are nitwits on the train platform who feel compelled to feed them!
This morning, because of where I parked, I ascended to the platform on the far west side. As I was walking eastward, I came close to a man who appeared to be in his late fifties or early sixties at the edge of the platform by one of the rest areas. He had a box of crackers in one hand and was crumbling them with the other before tossing them onto the platform. I asked him, "What are you doing?", even though I already knew. He answered that he was feeding the pigeons, to which I shot back, "Don't you know they're shitting all over the place here?" He said, "Yeah." So I asked, "Then why the hell are you feeding them?" I didn't stop to hear his answer, all I heard was some inaudible mumbling.
He was not the first person I encountered feeding pigeons on the train station platform. Earlier in the year I challenged another person about it. What is the matter with these people? I guess they feel they are doing a kind deed and it makes them feel better about themselves. I see it all the time when I take my children to Mill Pond in Bellmore, where you get well meaning but not terribly bright people feeding bagels and crackers to the ducks and geese.
Whether these people realize it or not, crackers, bagels and bread are not part of the natural diet of these animals. It's like going to a Third World country and tossing candy bars to crowds of impoverished and hungry children and then patting yourself on the back for being such a generous person, when what they really need is a balanced and healthy diet.
So here's to the idiot at the train station today feeding crackers to the pigeons. You are my pet peeve of the day. I hope one of them shits on your jacket!
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