Texas Duck Story

Something really cute happened in downtown San Antonio this week. Michael
R. is an accounting clerk at Frost Bank and works there in a second story
office.  Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck choose the concrete awning
outside his window as the unlikely place to build a nest above the sidewalk. The
mallard laid ten eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched
over 10 feet in the air. She  dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks, and Monday
afternoon all of her ten ducklings hatched.
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> Michael worried all night how the momma duck was going to get those babies
safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water,
which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching.  Tuesday
morning, Michael watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the
perch with the intent to show them how to jump off.  Office work came to a
standstill as everyone gathered to watch.
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> The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In
disbelief Michael watched as the first fuzzy newborn trustingly toddled to the
edge and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below.
Michael couldn't stand to watch this risky effort nine more times!  He
dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs to the sidewalk where the first
obedient duckling, near its mother, was resting in a stupor after the near-fatal
fall.  Michael stood out of sight under the awning-planter, ready to help.
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> As the second one took the plunge, Michael jumped forward and caught it
with his bare hands before it hit the concrete. Safe and sound, he set it down
it by its momma and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from that
painful leap.  (The momma must have sensed that Michael was trying to help her
babies.)
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> One by one the babies continued to jump. Each time Michael hid under the
awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall.
 At the scene the busy downtown sidewalk traffic came to a standstill.  Time
after time, Michael was able to catch the remaining eight and set them by their
approving mother.
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> At this point Michael realized the duck family had only made part of its
dangerous journey. They had two full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks,
curbs and past pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the San Antonio
River, site of the famed "River Walk."  The onlooking office
secretaries and several San Antonio police officers joined in.  An empty
copy-paper box was brought to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them,
with the mother's approval, and loaded them in the container. Michael held
the box low enough for the mom to see her brood. He then slowly navigated
through the downtown streets toward the San Antonio River. The mother waddled
behind and kept her babies in sight, all the way.
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> As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping in
the river and quacking loudly. At the water's edge, Michael tipped the box
and helped shepherd the babies toward the water and to the waiting mother after
their adventurous ride.
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> All ten darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up
snugly to momma. Michael said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the
beaming bank bookkeeper, and proudly quacking.
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>  At last, all present and accounted for: "We're all together
again.  We're here!  We're here!"
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>  And here's a family portrait before they head outward to further
adventures...
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> Like all of us in the big times of our life, they never could have made it
alone without lots of helping hands.  I think it gives the name of San
Antonio's famous "River Walk" a whole new meaning!