Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Grackles

The grackles are back in the Park. They're not as popular as robins, of course, nor as tuneful. They're blackbirds, after all, from which we stand off a bit.

I remember, from my childhood, listening to the radio at the breakfast table on weekday mornings, how John Gambling and Peter Roberts used to joke about grackles. John Gambling was the host of Rambling with Gambling on WOR. (My mother never missed.) Peter Roberts was his newcaster on the half-hour, and they had this thing called the "John Gambling Research Foundation." Gambling was the straight man, and Roberts the cut-up.

Why they got such a kick out of grackles, I don't know, and just what they said about them, I can't remember. But what I think they must have noticed is that grackles (being blackbirds) are smart and audacious, and they have attitude.

3 comments:

bill bird said...

Peter Roberts used to say "After all is done and serd (said)...the grackle is a noble bird".

Moringadeva said...

I too have a mom who listened faithfully to John Gambling & Peter Roberts joke about the noble grackle. It was a standing joke between the two & it went on for years. They used to tell tales of how grackles caused mischief & how Peter Roberts was often made to look foolish by grackles. I'm glad someone else remembers this show & the grackle jokes.

Chris said...

This came back to me last evening, when my lady found an injured grackle in our backyard and took him to a local bird rescue group. Had thought of Gambling in many years, but he was there with us at breakfast all through my childhood.