Thursday, August 20, 2009

crazy acts of boundless compassion


my friend amy just told me an amazing story. she was walking by the east river last weekend when she spotted a cormorant with fishing line tied around its neck. the bird was in great distress. the next thing you know, amy's tracked down a kayak and paddled out with an old knife to free the bird. what makes this story even more amazing is that amy doesn't know how to swim, and the east river has some of the deadliest and strongest currents around. but she went anyway. people were yelling to her from a bridge, the cormorant got under the kayak, but she prevailed and got the string loose. it's completley crazy and irresponsible...but also so admirable. i wonder, what impetuous, out-of-this-world acts have people done to help someone or something?

1 comment:

  1. I know the story is less dramatic this way, but while I'm not a strong swimmer, I do swim and was wearing a life jacket so the chances of drowning were slim. And while it was scary to approach a panicked large sea bird, I was protected somewhat by the kayak when I cut the fishing line but wasn't daring enough to try to get the line off the bird's neck. Nonetheless, it was very satisfying to see a problem and find a way to do something about it and to do something out of the ordinary to help a creature in need. Leslie, I love the topics you bring up. I hope more readers write in - should make for some interesting discussions. - Amy

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