Fly Away Home Page #2

- Wild geese, yeah.

- Yeah.

That was one of the last nesting

places for them in the area.

- You just inherited more problems.

- Great.

Geese learn from their parents.

Everything from what to eat,

how to fly, when to migrate.

When do they migrate?

Late fall. But without

the parental influence...

...they'll get the urge to fly,

but won't know where they're going.

- How do I take care of them?

- A little grass and grain for now.

I'll come by in a couple days and see

what you got, and if I can help.

- That would be great.

- Good.

Hey, hey. Come on, goose.

Hey, goose.

- How old is she?

- Thirteen.

They grow up quick, don't they?

I wouldn't know.

It's amazing how they follow her

around like that.

Yeah. It's called "imprinting."

The first living thing a goose sees

it assumes is its mother.

They'll follow her anywhere.

It's important to note

that geese are tough birds.

The way they've been displaced,

I'm amazed they're not extinct.

But they've learned to adapt.

Where do they go?

That's the problem.

I get calls all the time.

They land on people's front lawns,

the golf course...

That's why we have Ordinance 9314.

Ordinance what?

Ordinance 9314:

"All domestically raised geese

have to be rendered flightless."

It's better known as "pinioning."

It's actually a simple procedure.

It's quite painless.

What do we have here?

Come here, guy.

Please leave him alone.

Your name's Amy, right?

Amy, these geese belong to the Crown.

- What Crown?

- Queen of England.

- Pinioning?

- I had no idea.

It's for the good of the goose

and the people.

You take the wing and just shave

a bit off the cuticle here.

What are you doing?! Stop it!

Stop it!

What the hell are you doing?

- Watch out!

- Easy.

What are you doing?

What the hell are you doing?

What's wrong? I'm trying to help.

What happens when they start to fly?

What happens when they migrate?

They'll be zapped in power lines.

- Get off my land!

- Listen!

They could be carrying parasites

and disease...

Stay off of my place!

They'll be clipped, no matter what!

If they fly, I'll confiscate them.

Amy.

Amy, I'm sorry. I didn't know

he was going to do that.

I promise I won't let anybody

hurt them, all right? Open the door.

She's your daughter.

You have to figure it out yourself.

I've tried everything.

I've been nice to her.

I've been tough on her.

Nothing's worked.

I think the bottom line is...

...that she doesn't want to be here.

And I'm no better father now

than I was when she was 3.

- At least you're here.

- Yeah, I'm here.

It's okay.

Thomas!

Hey, Barry!

How you doing?

Good.

- I got those battens for you.

- Thank you.

You've missed some good flying.

I got this straight-up elevator

off a cliff burble...

...I must have gone up 2000 feet

in a minute.

Where is this place?

It's 52 miles.

I got my bird in the truck.

I can't.

I got a bit of a crisis here.

- You want some coffee?

- Yeah, sure.

Amy!

Get out!

It's the compressor! I just...

- It's the compressor!

- Get out!

- Get out!

- It's the compressor!

- He's so weird!

- You're right, he is.

I miss my friends and my room.

Who was that guy?

Just a guy. He didn't see you.

- He did too!

- No, he didn't.

- He did.

- No.

Why did he bring

a man to chop their wings off?

Your father didn't know.

- He did, and he's coming back.

- No, he's not.

- Amy, listen to me. Listen to me!

- No! No!

I know I can't replace your mother.

Nobody can.

But if you let me,

I can be your friend.

The first rule of friends is

they have to trust each other.

I promise you, nothing is going

to happen to those geese. Nothing.

I won't let it, and neither

will your dad. It's a promise.

Okay?

- See that weld?

- I see your finger.

- It's dark!

- No, it's behind there. The weld.

I got it.

How fast do they fly again?

- Thirty-one miles an hour.

- Oh, God, there's no way!

Yeah, it's slow.

- Makes for a really slow aeroplane.

- They're aerodynamically perfect.

What's that principle?

The guy that...

- Bernoulli.

- Bernoulli.

If the wing is curved, airflow moves

faster over the top. It goes farther.

Less pressure on top,

ergo lift...

...ergo flight.

Ergo...

Ergo what?

Have you turned the gas on, Tom?

Yeah, now it's on.

Turn it off.

Make up your mind.

Turn it off until the engine starts.

Then turn it back on.

This is the kill switch. Clamp it

in your teeth. If you crash...

...your jaw relaxes.

You won't get cut up too bad.

- Fly on, boys!

- Everybody clear?

- We need a bigger engine.

- Yeah.

Wake up.

Hey, hey.

Hey, guys.

Hey, guys, come on.

Hey, geese, come on!

Come on, geese! Come on, geese!

Come on.

You could fly real high with this.

Or end up a pile of ground round.

There's only one way to find out.

Come on, Tom. Come on!

Oh, God!

Oh, my. What a ride!

My feet can't take this anymore.

- See that one?

- This one?

That one's Fluffy.

- And that one's Featherbrain.

- Featherbrain?

And that's Grumpy. He likes mud.

What's that little guy's name?

This one? I haven't thought

of a name yet.

He was born with a limp,

so maybe I'll call him Gimpy.

That's pretty good.

It might give him a complex, though.

You might think of something

more strong.

Like John, or Thor.

Mac, or something.

Oh, I got it. Igor!

- Igor?

- Yeah.

Like in Frankenstein:

"Master. Master, follow me!"

You know?

That's good. I like it. "Igor."

"It's alive!" You know.

I had this idea...

...about the geese.

I've been watching the way

they've been following you.

Even when you're

on your four-wheeler.

It occurred to me that they just might

follow my aeroplane too.

- No way.

- Amy, look.

They're gonna try to fly away.

That's what they do.

They're migratory.

They go south in the winter, just as

their ancestors have always done.

So?

We can keep them in the barn.

Sure, we could do that.

It's kind of like jail.

We could also clip their wings.

Doesn't matter.

They'll want to go south, where

it's warm and there's plenty to eat.

I could show them the way

by flying with them in my plane.

My geese won't have anything to do

with your crazy ideas.

She's right, Thomas.

This one is way out there.

Okay, look. But this could work.

According to the books...

...they learn the landscape

by following their parents.

In the spring, they come back

by the same route...

...exactly, to the same place.

Right there on the front porch.

Our problem is that your birds...

...don't have anybody

to show them the way.

So they'll take off and get lost,

or get shot by hunters, or worse.

They're not gonna follow you.

But they might if you help me.

Believe me, this could work.

I promise you, it'll be okay.

I promise.

Come on, guys. Come on.

That was close.

We'll get it.

Hey, guys! Come on!

It seemed so perfect. I'm used to

my ideas not working out at first.

Yeah, but she's not used to it.

You got her all excited about this.

Now she feels like you let her down...

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