Once in a Career Moments: Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

By: Jennifer Casey-Sekel

As the Business Manager here at Accurate-Airtight Exteriors, I don’t often get to observe the work being done by our crews out in the field and the challenges they can sometimes encounter. However, sometimes that work presents itself back in the office, and some of it has a really...interesting...story attached. This is one of those stories.

During the first summer of my career with A-AE, our owner, Torrance Kramer, returned to the Madison, WI office mid-afternoon after working on a condominium project. By this point I was used to seeing the guys covered in various dust and debris, but this particular day was unique. Plus, Torrance was quiet when he came in (anyone who knows Torrance knows that “quiet” isn’t a word used to describe him). I’m talking eerily silent, perplexed/perturbed look on his face, and covered in...something. Head to toe with this whitish-grayish powdery looking substance that I had not seen before.

Upon laying eyes on him, I gently asked “What is all over you?” or something to that effect. He could only utter one word: “Pigeons”. 

I immediately thought of—you know—bird poo, but this stuff looked more like a hazmat situation than a bird with digestive issues. Plus, there was a LOT of it. Not being able to connect the dots of what this stuff had to do with pigeons, I prodded Torrance for more information (I am not good at leaving well enough alone, clearly).

Torrance took a deep breath (as deep as he could without aspirating this pigeon substance) and began to tell me what happened. 

He was working on the duct work on this particular project and at some point discovered that it was clogged with pigeons. Deceased ones. Apparently Torrance opened up the ducts, and lo and behold, two of these dearly departed little dudes came out of the duct work and exploded in his face. Yep. Pigeon confetti all over Torrance like some sort of deranged celebration that no one brought cake to. Bert from Sesame Street would have been so sad.

At this point I was equally appalled at the thought of my boss being assaulted by very dead pigeons (I am deathly afraid of birds in any form—thanks Mom) and about to implode from stifling laughter. I think I tried to form words but could not (“quiet” is not a word used to describe me either, folks). I’m pretty sure we both stood there in silence for a couple of minutes trying to process what in tarnation had just happened. Again, I’d heard all sorts of critter stories from the trenches and seen some dusty guys come in from a day’s work, but this one took the proverbial cake.

Two years later and we’re still talking about it, and the time has come to share it with you all, and show you just how entertaining a career with A-AE can be. 

So, the next time you have concerns that your ducts may be clogged, give me a call at A-AE and we’ll send the crew out. Torrance has you covered...literally.

Think there’s something stuck in your ducts? Let us do the dirty work. Call A-AE at 866.582.4320 or contact us online today.