Lame Claims to Fame
There's a pattern in the two anecdotes below. Both of them have to do with a nephew of mine taking action that shoves me into a place I didn't know I was going to. These are nicer places than some I've gone to--of my own volition, so it's OK.
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Dear Miriam,
I was wondering if you would still have Chuck Otte's email address. I attended his talk at Dillon Nature Center last night, and got the book Birds of Kansas. I noticed that I have seen a couple birds that are not documented in Reno County and wanted to report them. Here's a paragraph from Birds of Kansas.
I was wondering if you would still have Chuck Otte's email address. I attended his talk at Dillon Nature Center last night, and got the book Birds of Kansas. I noticed that I have seen a couple birds that are not documented in Reno County and wanted to report them. Here's a paragraph from Birds of Kansas.
"Bronzed Cowbird Status: [ Hypothetical]
The only sighting to date was at a feeder in a rural yard. Although the record did not satisfy the rigorous requirements of the KBRC, the authors believe that the submitted description and the likelihood of this species' reappearing in Kansas warrant its inclusion here. M. and H. Iwashige observed a single female at a feeder in Partridge, 10 miles southwest of Hutchinson (Reno County), on 9 July 2009, noting the red eyes that distinguished it from other Blackbirds ( Including Brown-headed Cowbirds), that also visited the same feeder regularly. Few other details were provided." Joey
(end of quote)
I guess the rigorous details required must include details like "black-feathered, two-legged, cowbird-sized, etc." I had contacted Chuck Otte at Joey's urging because he knew that the species had never before been recorded in Kansas. When the group who decides whether a sighting is official or not was together (Chuck Otte is no longer part of that group.), they deemed it not eligible because there were too few details. One person, however, believed it should be included because there's no other species that a black bird with red eyes can be confused with. My thoughts exactly all along.
Chuck Otte is one of seven authors listed for Birds of Kansas. David Seibel is the one listed here on Amazon. The book is a large hardcover and costs $32.54--probably too much to buy just because it has my name in it.
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I almost missed the other lame claim to fame, except for an email that announced that Hans had mentioned my name on Facebook. When I followed the link in the email, I found the hoot in the conversation below. No one who really knows me would ever think me to be tech savvy or sports savvy. The very idea gave Joel and Hilda and me a good laugh on the way to the airport this morning--right before I had to ask Hilda to help me figure out how to make sure my cell phone was set so that the ringer was "on" in case they had to call me after I dropped them off at the terminal entrance--something most 11-year-olds would probably know how to do.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
5:30 PM
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