December 19, 2007
Goodbye, Pigeon Man
Sad news today: Joseph Zeman, the "pigeon man of Lincoln Square," was killed yesterday when he was struck by a car on the Far North Side. The driver was a 68-year-old who didn't see Zeman as he made a right leaving a parking lot.
The 77-year-old was easy to spot at the corner of Lawrence and Western, where he would sit for hours on a fire hydrant, feeding a large group of pigeons that would crowd around him and perch all over his body. Zeman was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston at 3:21 p.m, and he was found with a laminated copy of the article the Trib did on him in 2004.
An epileptic who was treated poorly as a child by his family, Zeman learned early on "not to say nothing, keep to myself, just so I can't be wrong anymore." He first formed a relationship with the pigeons during the 47 years he ran a newsstand at the corner of LaSalle and Division. He would feed them, and over time, the pigeons came to trust him. He moved up to the hydrant in 1997 when he sold the newsstand.
However you feel about pigeons, it's hard not to be moved by Zeman's philosophy, which he shared in his Trib profile: "I'm really advertising to the public how easy it is to be good without an attitude; it's just as easy to show decency as it is to hate today."
"Pigeon Man" via jdlinkvision.
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Some may think of him as a nuiscance, but I will miss his presecene in my neighborhood.
I will miss him, too.
:(
This is incredibly sad. I suppose at some point you have to think that life is so bad that you say to yourself "well, at least i have the pidgeons, they like me"
very very sad story. truly a chicago original.
Wow, St. Francis? I dont know the locations of all our trauma centers, but that seems a bit far to go from Lincoln Square. Very sad. R.I.P.
he was killed up on the far north side ... devon ave and mccormick rd; not in lincoln square. it's really sad.
Oh! Whoops, thats what I get for skimming! My fault!
I always found the whole thing repulsive but his death is sad all the same.
such sad news. joe was a sweet man, kind to everyone he encountered; whenever i walked my dog past his hydrant, she would drag me over and lean against his legs for pets. he was an eccentric, to be sure, but a kind soul, and he lived in accordance with his beliefs ("how easy it is to be good"), which is more than can be said for a lot of people. i'll miss seeing him in lincoln square.
I've never been a fan of pigeons, however I find this whole story incredibly sad ... and as Matty said the thought of ones life being reduced to taking solace in pigeons is enough to get me weepy in itself.
Don't pigeons carry disease and parasites?
gross, but hey pigeons have their own charm in the bigger pic,and clearly this "Pops" was one of the few remaining "Chicago characters"
Freaking cars, we need less of em, much less
Tomorrow I will drink to him riding to heaven on the wings of a billion homeing pegions
crookcounty: the original trib bio of zeman had a quote from a public health guy saying "nobody in public health is losing sleep over pigeons."
they have the potential to be disease carriers, but it's really not an issue for concern. obviously, since zeman was killed by car, and not a pigeon disease. :/
Touché J-Gebo! Touché!
But pigeons (specifically their poop) DO contribute to corrosion of metal where they roost (i.e.- El train support beams, highway underpasses).
That's why you hear all those crazy piped in hawk noises at the Howard red line stop and every outdoor El station has those clear plastic "tree branch" looking things on a bunch of flat surfaces.
They are nasty dirty creatures:
Q-5. DO PIGEONS CARRY DISEASES?
A. Pigeons do carry diseases, which is probably why they have been referred to as flying Pigeons. Ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis and salmonella are just a few of the illnesses spread by contact with pigeon poop and dead pigeons.
Cryptococcosis, one of the commonly carried pigeon diseases, infects the lungs of humans. It is transmitted by inhaling the yeast-like cells of the organism. Cryptococcosis can also cause acne-like ulcers on the skin.
Histoplasmosis is a fungus disease contracted through airborne spores in pigeon droppings. If pigeons have been on your roof for a while, these spores can even infect the soil you garden in down below. Its symptoms may be anything from a mild influenza to blood abnormalities and fever, or even death. An eye condition has been linked to the bird disease histoplasmosis and can lead to blindness in those who contract it.
Toxoplasmosis is an infection that invades human tissue and can severely damage the central nervous system, especially in babies. Pregnant women are in extreme danger if infected with toxoplasmosis.
Ornithosis causes fever, chills, fatigue, a rash and lung problems such as shortness of breath and a cough. It can also lead to rales, which are small clicking, bubbling or Pigeontling sounds coming from a portion of the lung.
crookcounty: some of that stuff also comes from handling cat shit, which is why pregnant women are often advised to leave the kitty litter duty to their sig others when carrying the baby.
for me, i just can't get that worked up about getting some disease from pigeons. i'm not rolling around in pigeon crap or dead pigeons, so there are bigger issues that i think the city should tackle.
I take Western almost everyday and have seen that guy countless times. As weird as he was I think I'll miss seeing him and his birds.
The 100+ comments over at the Trib site about him are pretty touching to read. He was probably about the most well-loved man in Chicago.
I hope they leave candles and such at not only the spot of his demise, but also at the fire hydrant!
@Spook:
Wouldn't a more fitting tribute be birdseed?
I take Western almost everyday and have seen that guy countless times. As weird as he was I think I'll miss seeing him and his birds.
Strange, I live right down the street in Lincoln Square and I have never once seen this guy.
He was a kind, gentle human. I get teary just reading about him.
And all these meanies talking about about how diseased piegons are--I bet pigeons never wiped out, oh, say, nearly all of a country's native population, huh? Please.
The way you say it you sound like he deserved what he got, just for caring for something most people find repulsive.
We should all spend more time being kind & less judgemental. We should all try to be a little more like Mr. Zeman.
well he died like a pigeon they often get struck by cars to
Pigeons are disgusting and not smart enough to south in the winter because stupid humans feed them.
crookcounty, technically you are incorrect when you state that Pigeons carry disease. The pigeon itself has been proven to carry no diseases. It's just that the pigeon poop is so full of nitrogen, that bacteria will grow very fast once the poop sits around for a while. Pigeon poop = bad. Pigeons themselves = technically, not bad.
Just a simple health reminder: nothing carries and spreads disease like *humans*.
Many still don't like pigeons, though. They are an invasive species, not native to the area, and with few predators to keep their population in check.
I could really do without people feeding pigeons, since it causes so much trouble for others nearby.
Many would be inclined to cut this fellow some slack but it could be argued that he was sticking it to others, in a passive aggressive way, assuming that he was feeding them.
Just the same, it sounds like the neighbourhood has lost something here.
Hopefully he will find more peace now.