Victor and Uno, 08/09/2012
What is the back story of this image? Why does this guy have a fancy pigeon riding on his shoulder?
Perhaps the man is a “mumbler”, a term I heard in New York City that refers to people who raise pigeons. I’m not certain if mumble indicates that he talks to his pigeons in a soft voice or, less flatteringly, it is a reference to someone with limited social skills.
Here’s my interpretation (totally fabricated):
The bicyclist’s name is Victor. He learned to raise and fly pigeons from his grandfather in Baltimore. Victor grew up in Baltimore with his mother and grandparents after his father was killed in an auto accident. Working with the birds helped Victor to deal with his grief.
One his fondest memories is of an early fall morning, standing on the tar roof of his row-house and releasing the birds for their exercise flight over the neighborhood. As the birds swept over the houses, their wings shimmering in the rising sun’s light, Victor sensed his father with him and, for a moment, glimpsed heaven.
At 18, Victor went into the Army and the pigeons left his life. After the Army, Victor worked in a variety of jobs, one of which landed him in Minneapolis. Victor met his future wife, Andrea at a job fair. Both of them were looking for jobs. They took a break from the interviews to have a cup of coffee. It was the first coffee they would share for the years to come.
A couple of years ago, while bicycling home from work, Victor noticed a homing pigeon lying on the ground being attacked by crows. He stopped, rescued the exhausted bird and took it home, nestled inside his shirt with its head poking out between the buttons.
That evening Victor told Andrea about his grandfather and the pigeons. The next day he began building a coop in their backyard.
The bird Victor rescued had a broken wing and would never fly again. Rather than put it down, Victor and Andrea nursed it back to health. They named it Uno because it was the first of the many pigeons they would collect.
Now, Victor and Uno go for rides in the neighborhood. The breeze blowing in Uno’s face is a memory of days past when he flew circles over house tops, the rising sun flashing on his wings.