Subject: Phoebe Snetsinger
Date: Nov 27 18:38:26 1999
From: Ed Newbold - newboldwildlife at netscape.net


Dear Tweeters,
I was saddened to hear of the death of Phoebe Snetsinger. Although I didn't
know her, I feel the world has been impoverished by her passing. An expert
woman birder who traveled regularly to places like Madagascar is an ambassador
we can't afford to lose.

It's also personally frustrating to me that this is so predictable. Anyone
who likes to bird in the tropics, (not to mention Germany or Italy) has an
excellent chance of dying this way. I'd like to ask people who are planning a
birding tour to bring up with the tour company the question of whether the
drivers will be male or female. They'll be male. If so, they should ask if
the drivers are selected for their concern for safety and for driving at
reasonable speeds. Many tour companies don't have a lot of control over this
for various reasons but the sooner the issue is raised the better. If you
haven't brought up the issue beforehand, you can ask the driver to slow down,
as I once felt compelled to do in Paraguay. It's important for American men
particularly to let foreign drivers know we aren't afraid to say fast driving
makes us afraid.

None of this will bring back Phoebe, but we should raise this issue when
appropriate in her honor.
--Ed Newbold Beacon Hill, Seattle newboldwildlife at netscape.net


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