June 22, 2013

Peregrine: In her eyes I saw an intelligence, an understanding.

There was an experience I had that I want to share. It happened when I was working as an electrician in a high rise building here in Houston, Texas, the Huntington Estates. We were wiring deceased Enron CEO Ken Lay's apartment back in 1997. He owned the entire floor so it had a beautiful view of the entire Houston skyline from the balconies on every cover of the building. I used to love just standing out there and marveling at the grand view. One overcast day i was standing on the southeast facing balcony and from around the corner of the building came a peregrine falcon soaring right at my eye level. We were at east 400 feet up so the wind gust made it easy for the bird to glide gently and slowly around the corner. She drew closer and closer until she was less than 20 feet from me. When she got right in front of me she turned her head and looked right at me. She hung there for what seems like forever just looking at me. In her eyes i saw an intelligence, an understanding. For those fleeting moments we connected. Then she shifted her wings and turned away from the wind and was gone. I knew she had a nest in the east facing window of the penthouse. I had heard about her from other workers but I never thought i'd be able to get such a good look at her. It was a simple but amazing moment, one that I cherish forever.



Do any of you have a moment like this you might want to share?


Peace