Kasuku

I’ve known Peter B. Kaplan for over four decades. To say the least, Peter is quite the character. We have a few things in common and we both get our own special fm channel on the radio that plays right through our brains; almost like a stereo lobotomy. But that’s not such a bad thing. I guess it would be fair to say that Peter is one of the leading photographers when it comes to “height photography” and his work has been published all over the world. Like many photographers, it seems like they all have some quirks or things that they are known by besides their photography, Peter traveled the world with an equally creative, crazy, bird on his shoulder by the name of Kasuku. I remember the first time peter came for a day out on the sound. We were going to do some sailing and some fishing. He said he was bringing his bird and I said “Peter that’s not such a good idea, I have two English Springer Spaniels known for being some of the greatest bird dogs in the world”. Peter assured me that his bird would have no problem with the dogs and that the dogs may be intimidated by Kasuku! Knowing Peter the way I do, I just presumed it was an over-the-top statement. Well, I was wrong. Kasuku came in and stared down Tobasco and Ruffian. To save face, lets say it was a draw. Having said that, Peter would remind me that it was two 40 pound dogs and one relatively small bird. One of the great things of having a bird like Kasuku, is that they usually live to be about 75, so there was a pretty good chance that the bird would bury Peter. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Oops, I didn’t mean it that way! Last week, Kasuku was on Peters chest and passed away at 37 years old. Peter, I’m very sorry for your loss. It’s not easy to lose an old friend. Joe D.