I am most certain that the electronically oriented business world would not approve of this little cubbyhole I call my office. Once upon a time it was my daughter's room. Being a chip of the old block she kept unusual things; guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, parakeets etc. After she moved out it became a nursery for orphaned and sometimes endangered wildlife.

People kept showing up with these little brown bags that sometimes screeched and sometimes squeaked.

When it was made abundantly clear to me by "rabies-control" officer, also known as a dogcatcher, that the city code only allowed canaries, parakeets and cats and dogs within the city limits, our rescue efforts sadly came to an end.

The computer moved in and with it a retinue of electronic servants. But every once in awhile something neither human nor electronic visits here. That was the case when Uhu the pigeon was my guest during the Fourth of July Holiday.

Daughter Barbara found the injured pigeon over a year ago, upside down in the middle of the Highway. The plan was to pick it up and place it by the side of the road for a more dignified demise. The bird had other plans. He was quite capable of holding on to skin with his beak. It was also very vocal. Plan B was put in action. The bird went home with Barbara in hopes that eventually the pigeon would fly away. Instead, the pigeon finds himself upside down staring up instead of flying up. Plan C left little option. Barbara decided to stick with that little handicapped-feathered individual. She named the bird UHU after famous name-brand glue. When you're stuck, you're stuck. When Barb needs to go away Uhu stays here, strictly guest status. Uhu has to be checked frequently. It is not healthy for a pigeon to be upside down too long.

Pigeons are apparently quite social with a tendency to vocalize a lot. There were those little punctuated silences and then some ooooo-whhoooo sounds at first. All of that changed when I activated the printer. Uhu stretched his neck and stood on tiptoes and took in the view. The Epson Stylus must have looked strange to him but the sounds had a certain fascination. Uhu waited for a pause in the printer's conversation. He puffed his feathers and went in to a little dance, responding with elegance and passion. When the printer responded, Uhu missed a step in his little ballet and promptly wound up upside down.

Grateful that I wasn't cranking out a novel, I sort of shuffled back and forth between the printer and the pigeon. Uhu does not like to be made aware of his handicap, especially not when he is having a social conversation. I had to bribe him with sunflower seeds to retrieve my finger.

Finished with the printing, I turned off the machine. Now Uhu was really upset. He kept shouting pigeon insults. The other creature he was talking to kept silent. Eventually he sort of peeped softly to himself and preened his feathers. But he kept one eye on the creature that refused to talk to him. At last he settled down to where he no longer toppled over. Now he was just talking to himself.

For a little while, peace reigned supreme in the cubbyhole. I decided to warm up the scanner. It was an entirely different kind of sound, but it was sound enough to prompt Uhu back in action. This time the problem was complicated by the location of the machine. No matter how he stretched his neck. Uhu could not distinguish the shape. When the phone rang, he went into high gear. "'scuse me," I said, as I answered the phone; "Uhu's on his back."

It's hard to explain to a phone solicitor about Uhu. I'm beginning to think that this bird is a blessing in disguise. Imagine those phone solitaires passing on the news that if you call this number you get a crazy old lady who complains that her Uhu is on his back. Come to think of it, there may be more than one way to stop those pesky phone calls. Elsa