PILOT RESCUED: GOD BLESS OUR MILITARY I flew the helicopter gunship in Viet Nam as a US Marine Pilot. I went down three times. I should not be here today. The most truly spiritual part of being a Marine pilot was knowing my fellow pilots would not leave a fellow pilot to be captured or die. That is why the motto of all Marines is “Semper Fi.” Forever Faithful. We will not leave you behind. A friend of mine was shot down and trapped behind Viet Cong line’s . He was rescued three weeks later. Today he says “I’m alive today….because dead men kept fighting.” That is why the two words “Semper Fi” are spiritual words. They are words the come from the souls of men and woman who fight and are willing to give their lives, for fellow soldiers and for our freedom. Today, I do my best to only do business with men and women who live by GODS words “Semper Fidelis.” Such men and woman are rare and priceless. To do business with such people….first I need to be one of them. May you be one of them…too.

Members of our staff rescued this peregrine falcon today from a courtyard on the Upper West Side, where he likely collided with a window, suffering a wing fracture. The break, to the right ulna, was severe enough to puncture the skin. Our vet tech Eugene cleaned the wound and splinted the wing while the bird was under anesthesia, and since surgery may be necessary, we’ll be quickly sending the peregrine to our friends at The Raptor Trust. Thanks to his ankle bands, we know that this bird is 12 years old! That’s at the high end of the typical lifespan for a peregrine, so Leroy has been around the block a few times and is a fighter.🥷 Once threatened with extinction in the U.S., peregrines have rebounded in NYC and elsewhere thanks largely to environmental protections passed in the 1970s. Among them was the Endangered Species Act, which narrowly escaped being gutted yesterday in Congress. Thank you to everyone who took action to oppose the bill! Please keep this beautiful survivor in your thoughts. 📷: Suzanne Highlanf