Bad Juju

Have you ever seen those owl statues people buy and put out to keep pigeons away? They look like this:

Pigeon-scaring owl-statues on East 9th Street.

Usually they're standing upright though. I don't think pigeons are afraid of owls that are leaning, or lying down! They're probably more afraid that this rusty old fire escape will collapse under their weight!

So… I was walking across East 7th Street yesterday when I saw something that at first I thought was a variation of the owl statues:

7th Street owl-statue variations?

Do you see them? Here's a close-up:

Bats!

A vulture!

Because this doesn't have a crooked neck, I was pretty sure it was a turkey vulture, and I wanted to be sure, so I googled "turkey vulture", and as I was typing it, other suggestions came up in the autofill, like… turkey vulture totem!

Suddenly it became clear.

East Villagers are very superstitious people. Here is what one web site had to say about turkey vulture totems:

You know how to use your own energy powerfully and efficiently. You have the ability to see auras and colors around people with your higher vision and you know how to use patience as a means to an end. You easily go with the flow of those around you yet are fiercely protective of those you feel responsible for. You have keen insight into most situations.

I think I would have come up with something more like this:

Vultures: circle above you waiting for you to die; start eating you even before you're dead; go for the eyes first.

Bats: swarm around your head just out of reach; make high-pitched screeching noises; get tangled in your hair; suck your blood.

I won't set foot outside again without my lucky rabbit's foot… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #bats #vultures #totems #7thstreet #owls #statues #superstition