RIVER CITY JOURNAL: THERE ARE SECRETS, AND THERE IS UNBOUNDED GENEROSITY

After asking for information about purple martins in a recent column, I have learned some things:

1. To many purple-martin aficionados, asking for information about purple martins is akin to snooping around for industrial secrets.

2. People who attract purple martins to their purple-martin houses don't particularly want you to know when the martin scouts arrive each spring.

3. Because if you know this information and are able to use it to lure martins to your brand-spanking-new martin house which you got for Christmas and assembled from lots and lots of sharp, tiny pieces-parts with your very own hands, there will be fewer martins living in the same digs as last year.

Who knew that purple-martin envy was so rampant?

Some folks are not only secretive, they tend to be a bit sly too.

I drove around town until I found a yard full of martin houses atop slender poles. I located the owner and told him I was the proud owner of a new martin house. I politely asked if he could tell me when martins arrive so I would know when to take the plugs out of the openings to the individual martin-house apartments.

This fellow was, from all appearances, as nice a man as you could expect to run across in our fair city. He had a pleasant smile and made absolutely no threatening gestures.

"Why, sure, I'd be happy to help," the kind gent said. He took off his baseball cap. To my surprise, he wasn't bald but had a shock of white hair that glistened in the sunlight. I always thought the only reason men wore baseball caps and seed caps and farm-implement caps wherever they went including most local restaurants and some church socials was to hide their baldness.

The fellow ran his fingers through his hair while he deliberated my inquiry. I took that to mean he wanted to be precise, and that is certainly what I expected.

"I'd say you could look for your first martin scouts about the middle of May," the old man said with a sideways glance. I should have been suspicious right away when he wouldn't look me in the eye. "And the main flock would get here about the middle of June."

Right away I knew he was deliberately misleading me. I read books, you know. I had pretty well figured out between reading and asking everyone I know and asking them to ask everyone they know that martin scouts arrive in Cape Girardeau anywhere from early to mid-March with the main flocks coming a couple of weeks later, depending on the weather.

So, unless this old man thought I was from Saskatchewan, I think he was pulling my leg.

There is, however, one Cape Girardeau resident who is generous to a fault, even with the deep mysteries of purple-martin migration.

Anyone who knows Jean Bell Mosley also knows she is one of this city's greatest treasures. Her columns have entertained and informed readers of the Southeast Missourian for years. Her short stories, inspirational writing and other pieces have graced some of the country's most influential magazines and publications.

So what did Jean Bell Mosley do when she found out I was looking for purple-martin secrets? Keep in mind that she is a contented landlord of several martin families in her own yard.

Let me tell you.

I came back from lunch one day this week to find a present on my desk. I could see the bright wrappings hermetically sealed inside a large zippered plastic bag. The wrapping paper was the cover of the Southeast Missourian's recent First Sunday publication, complete with shades of red and pink and the word "Love" inside a heart held by Cupid himself. The ribbon consisted of cherry-red felt strips with a matching heart.

Lots of folks around the office wanted to know what was in the package and who sent it.

You already know who sent it. Inside was a book, "What You Should Know About the Purple Martin" by J.L. Wade of Griggsville, Ill. The book was published in the mid-1960s, and it chronicles the growing interest in purple martins that spread across the nation as commercially manufactured martin houses became popular.

Griggsville, at the time the book was published, was the undisputed Purple Martin Capital. Along every street of the town were martin houses. As a result of the martin population, the Illinois town's mosquito problem was eradicated.

Thank you, Jean Bell Mosley, for the wonderful gift. I treasure the book, and I count your thoughtfulness as a precious jewel to be appreciated forever.

Over the years, I've received a few Valentines. This is one of the best.