The Eagle's Greatest Hit

Clark (no relation) is 19, and has already found a good career. He works in public relations, and travels the nation spreading the good news about conservation. He gets a lot of frequent flier miles, and even though he travels with a support staff, he gets his own hotel room at overnight stops. He likes to watch TV, mainly cartoons and nature shows.

Oh, and he has a tarpaulin spread over the hotel room, because Clark is... a bald eagle!

Now it all adds up. Clark is not suited to life in the wild - the scales on his talons did not develop, so he would surely die of pneumonia if he were on his own - so he flies around as an ambassador of World Bird Sanctuary in south St. Louis. 

He earns his supper (rat chunks 😬) by attending graduations, convocations and such, flying overhead while inspirational music plays. In so doing, the eagle raises consciousness about conservation and raises money for the Sanctuary.

Clark is named for William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame. (There's an eagle named Lewis back at the sanctuary). His work schedule is not grueling, calling for him to make four to six appearances yearly.  

When his handlers take him through the TSA checkpoint, the agents look into his crate and the carpet that lines it. You never know what he might try to smuggle in - crackers, maybe?

And people at the airports are ill-advised to try to stick their fingers into his crate. I mean, really?

Southwest is the only airline that allows Clark to fly in the main cabin. All the other carriers make him fly in the cargo area. Once, he got lost doing that, just like your luggage when you came back from Cincinnati, so don't feel too bad.

Southwest puts him (in his crate) in two seats, snugged up with three seat-belt extenders. The other seat is occupied by one of his human companions, who feeds him his rat bits and keeps him company with small talk and cartoon noises.

Oh, and this King Of The Sky, our fearless national symbol of freedom travels well...from the airport staff to the pilots, every effort is made to make his travel free of jostling. He hates turbulence.