"I'm like the birds I care for. People pass me in the street. They see me but they try to ignore me. They prefer I wasn't in their city."[src]
An unidentified woman, a so-called "Pigeon Lady", was homeless in New York City, where she often spent her time with pigeons in Central Park.
Biography[]
At some point in time, the woman had a job, a family and was in love with a man who eventually fell out of love with her. As a result, she refused to fall in love again and stopped trusting others.[1]
Over the years, she became homeless and would tend to the pigeons in Central Park. One day, she encountered the unnerved Kevin McCallister; Kevin quietly exclaimed "Sick!" and fled away from her.[1]
Later, the two encountered each other a second time. He panicked and attempted to run from her but got his foot caught. She freed him and Kevin started to flee again but then he collected himself and stopped to apologize for offending her with his reactions, in which she calmly accepted, not seeming to care at all about what anyone thinks about her, and also does not find Kevin to be annoying. After she give him some birdseed and had him throw it in the air, to attract the pigeons, they went to a concert in a loft above Carnegie Hall and heard a performance of "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful."[1]
There, she told Kevin about having heard the world's great music from the loft: Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavoratti. When Kevin asked her if she brought her friends up to the loft, she admitted she did not have many friends. When Kevin apologized, she explained that she was like the birds she cared for in that people would ignore her and wish she was not there. Kevin admitted that he could relate to this, feeling as though he was the "pigeon" of his household since he was the youngest. The Pigeon Lady then said that everyone fought for position and everyone wanted to be seen and heard; Kevin replied he was seen and heard pretty much but then got sent to his room a lot too.[1]
The Pigeon Lady explained to Kevin her aforementioned past about how she once had a career and a fiancée but was then dumped and has been afraid to talk to or trust anyone since. She advised him that a good deed erases a bad one and that on Christmas Eve, good deeds counted for extra. She suggested to Kevin that he think of the most important thing he could do for others and go and do it, and to think of it as following the star in his own heart. Kevin told her that if she needed someone to trust, it could be him and that he would not forget to remember her and the Pigeon Lady then gave one final parting piece of advice, telling him not to make promises he could not keep.[1]
Later, when Harry and Marv forced Kevin to Central Park by Harry having Kevin at gunpoint, the Pigeon Lady snuck behind them with an entire bucket of birdseed and demanded them to let Kevin go. When they do so, she told Kevin to run. Harry attempted to fire at her but was unable to do so (because of his gun having been jammed with varnish). The Pigeon Lady then threw the birdseed onto Harry and Marv, prompting pigeons to attack them and knock Harry and Marv to the ground, and the Pigeon Lady laughed, feeling lively again. When Kevin thanked her, she blew him a kiss in return.[1]
The next day, Kevin ran into the park and they wished each other a Merry Christmas. Kevin then gave her one of two turtledoves that Mr. Duncan had given him and then added that as long as they each had a turtledove, they would be friends forever. Touched by this, the Pigeon Lady thanked Kevin, who reaffirmed his promise to be her friend; she smiled, and they hugged.[1]
Trivia[]
- Her role in the film is very similar to that of Old Man Marley from the first movie; both appeared as menacing urban legends at first, but turned out to be quite friendly and just like everyone else, but misunderstood and both intervened when the bad guys cornered Kevin while wearing the same boots and also having good endings. Mr. Prescott from the fourth movie also has a similar role, but instead of Harry, Marv's wife Vera appears.
- She alludes to "Feed The Birds" from Mary Poppins.
- When Kevin said he was the pigeon of the house just because of his being the youngest, the Pigeon Lady agrees, saying everyone fights for position, and everybody wants to be seen, and heard; this implies she herself had possibly grown up in a family similar to Kevin's.
- Even though she is not named in the final cut, her name is Annie according to the original script, as in the Little Orphan Annie.[2]