Have You Ever...

...had a movie experience?

Today, I had me one.

I was walking the five blocks to work, strolling along very happily and humming a tune to myself when the world basically stopped in it's tracks, all music, happiness and sounds left me.

On the sidewalk were four dead pigeons.

One with it's head cracked open and a pool of bright red blood around it's head.

I knew because I had to walk through the massacre to get to where I was going, and my brain was literally repeating "does not compute" to itself as I forced myself to take steps.

Then I crossed the street, walked ten steps and came across two more dead pigeons.

This whole incident wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the fact that I saw a dead pigeon yesterday in the same vicinity.

Of course the first thing that popped into my mind was "bird flu", so I rushed to work, trying not to breathe (because for some reason I thought bird flu worked like anthrax and could be spread bird-to-human by air) and looked up the Center for Disease Control in San Francisco.

I left a message and starting contemplating when I realised that I had noticed the smell of burning rubber/tires in the air in that area in the past, and it was probably noxious fumes from that building that caused the high pigeon mortality rate. The most disturbing part was the one with it's head split open. I don't think I'll ever be able to get that image out of my head.

Today I walked a special route as to avoid the site of death, though I could see it from across the street and saw no small bodies, so I assume it was cleaned up. Hopefully I will not see remains of the puddle of blood, otherwise I might lose it on the way to work.

I still shudder when I think about it.