Henry the Pelican

     The year Hurricane Ivan hit, in the aftermath of the storm a local man named James Blevins was walking along the beach.  He heard the faint pitiful crying of an animal. He found an baby pelican, orphaned from the storm.

  James took care of the pelican.  He gave it "Henry" for a first name then "Ivan" for a last.  Daily he cared for it.  Finally it grew strong enough to fly.

  Now, James is Henry's surrogate mother.  Henry will fly down to the local (Pier Street) pier when he sees James.  If James doesn't see Henry, though, James honks a little bicycle horn, and Henry follows the sound to find James.  Visitors now come see this daily occurrence and are amazed to see a man hand-feed a grown pelican.

  The pelican is now "Henrietta," as she has had several broods of her own.  James and Henry are something of local celebrities, with their story of compassion and bonds between animals and man.  I wrote a bi-lingual picture book about them, entitled Henry the Pelican.  The pelican has become a symbol for our town, and a message of love and hope beyond difficult times.

  As for James, he says he didn't care for Henry out of a need to become locally famous, or be interviewed by local TV and radio personalities.  He did what is natural for him.

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