Tesla Walked by Night

Nikola Tesla loved nothing more than feeding the pigeons. He lived
most of his life in Manhattan hotel suites, and would walk over to
Central Park with a bag of unsalted peanuts. When the pigeons saw him,
they would gather all around him and enjoy the great man's benevolence
as he threw them handfuls of the tasty nuts. He did this not just when
he got old, but he did it through much of his life.

Although he often did this during the day, he also enjoyed taking
strolls after midnight (as do I). When he would reach the places where
the pigeons had their nighttime roosts, he would give a low whistle,
and the birds would come down and he would feed them. While amenable
to interviews during the day, during his night walks he preferred to be
left alone to his thoughts and great ideas.

No stranger to adversity, Tesla was hounded by bill collectors, and was
evicted several times because he couldn't pay his rent. After
inventing the complete AC power electrical generation and distribution
system for Westinghouse, the same system that still provides us all
with our electricity today, he was entitled to royalty payments that
should have made him a wealthy man. But when Westinghouse complained
that they could not afford to pay him such large royalties, he simply
tore up the contract and told them they could keep their money!

Before WWI, after trying many times to sell his inventions to the U.S.
military and being turned down, he finally got a deal with Germany to
sell them dynamos for use on their battleships. But when WWI broke
out, as a good American, he could no longer accept royalties from the
Germans. And so he was left without income again.

One time when he was completely broke, he found five dollars in a
drawer. But instead of using it to buy himself food, he spent it to
buy more peanuts for the pigeons!

I enjoy my nightly walks, which often take me below the high voltage
power lines. And when I look up, they remind me of Tesla.

Double-A