Kayelne And Her Eagle

My heart goes out to Kaylene and the rest of the Seattle residents who drive the SR-520 floating bridge.

I talk on the phone sometimes multiple times a day to Kaylene, she calls when she is driving to and from work, or to work appointments. When she calls me on the way to work she sometimes tells me of the eagle hanging out on the 520 bridge. Mornings that she sees the bald eagle perched on his pole are the best mornings.

For those of you who know Kaylene and the world she lives in, know that it is a world of wonder, mystery, discovery, and beauty. That majestic bald eagle definitely played an integral part in that world. Days that Kaylene saw the eagle on the bridge made my day here in Utah feel luckier. Days she didn't see it we would speculate where he might be, if he would be back soon. Because of this almost daily update of her eagle sightings I feel saddened by the news of the eagle being hit and killed during the busy work commute this morning.

The eagle was apparently perched on some railing on the side of the bridge and took flight when the 167 bus drove by. He flew alongside the bus for a brief moment and then turned right into the windshield, breaking it. The bus driver was unable to swerve to miss him.

I can't even imagine what it was like for those riding in the bus to witness such a moment. Their beloved eagle soaring beside them!..... then end so tragically.

Kayelne (who was the only one sad when Violet, the Wollenzien bulldog, was put down) is obviously so sad. She is actually on speaker phone right now, driving home from work on the 520... muttering to herself as I type. Here are some of her mutterings:

"This is worst than Hedwig dying."

"I haven't seen one beautiful bird on this drive."

"How do we do it, how do we keep on going?"

"This is so sad."

"It's the end of a legacy."

"End of a beautiful... beautiful... legacy."

"I would almost get a wreck when I saw him, I would just get so overwhelmed by his beauty."

Apparently looking at all the buses on the bridge... "killer, killer... killer".


Even though I reside in Utah I will miss "Eddie" the eagle. My thoughts are with Kaylene and the commuters in Seattle, I'm so sorry for your loss.