It is with permission that I share a friend's e-mail, quoted below. I just love this anecdote and its conclusion. Thanks, Tigger!
"A story...linked to some of your photos – the ones about pelicans to be precise.A dear friend of mine was involved in organizing a Scout camp from which he gained the inspired idea to set up a charity offering holidays to families in poverty and children from deprived backgrounds. And so the Trust was born - and needed something that would represent and reflect the values as well as background of the Trust, while it also needed to be something which would over time hopefully become easily recognizable and identified with the organization.
One of the symbols used in the emblem of the Trust became a pelican, because mother pelicans apparently pluck the feathers from their breast to help create a nest for their offspring. Thus the bird would reflect the organization's core value of caring for the young and vulnerable. The emblem now consists of, among other things, a background silhouette of the campsite which was the source of inspiration, superimposed on which is a pelican with some other symbols as well.
Isn’t it incredible how one thought leads to another and another and another and somehow seems to result in people having connections they never realized ?!?!?!?"
It's so true, Tig - clearly, one thought does lead to another... and another. Here, I'm reminded of a time when we first fell in love with pelicans. We were vacationing with the boys and Mom on a Gulf coast beach. Each late afternoon, pelicans would start fishing; you could mark the time of day by their appearance. We'd watch in fascination, as they caught their prey and swallowed in ginormous gulps. Towards the end of our stay, Christian asked permission to do a little solo souvenir shopping. He returned with a hilarious inflatable peli for Mom, his GrandLove; it was a gift she treasured with fond memories for many years. He gifted us the pictured cheerful bird. It still reigns as an Old Homestead mascot, bringing endless smiles. Thanks again, Honey! ♡