Friday, 20 February 2004 | Sacrifice

Co-worker Sarah saw a dead chicken on the subway steps this morning. She noticed a few articles of clothing draped over the railing before she spotted it. It had white feathers, she said, and it was propped up on one of the steps.

She waited a whole 45 minutes to tell us, co-worker Ian pointed out. Where are her priorities?

The chicken isn't the first dead livestock she's seen this week. On Tuesday, she told us about a rotting goat head in her new neighbor's yard. The head still had fur on it, and had melted-down candles encircling it. I was disappointed to hear she hadn't taken any pictures. She has, however, done a little research on the subject. She learned that it is not uncommon for sacrificial carcasses to be left near train tracks (although she didn't say why, or whether subway steps were sufficient).

When she mentioned the goat head to her landlord, he told her about the dead cats the neighbor had once "hung out to dry" in the backyard. I pictured them attached to a clothesline, clothespinned up like socks, their bodies sunken and matted. "I think he may have said something about the cats hanging from a tree," she offered. We speculated about where the cats may have come from.

...

She's been in her new home less than a week. So far, she likes it. Apart from the sacrificed animals, that is.