Rufflin' A Few Feathers
I was driving through Wells, Maine last week with my son Jake and his girlfriend Niy when they started hootin' and hollerin' about these colorful six-foot metal roosters on the side of the road. I had no idea what was going on. Turns out the big flap was in the next town over, Ogunquit.
Those roosters have become a symbol of support for kids with autism. It all started at The Omelette Factory, owned by Dave and Sara LeBlanc. They adopted their daughter, Pyper, who's now six and has autism. Roosters are her favorite animal. When she first came into foster care, one of the few things she had was an old stuffed rooster, and it became her comfort object. Later her dad bought one of those giant metal roosters, and before long they had a whole collection.
Well, here comes the town code officer. He decided those six-foot roosters were really advertising for the restaurant and started fining them for violating the town's sign ordinance. The fines eventually climbed to around a thousand dollars, even though the LeBlancs insisted the roosters were there for Pyper, not to sell omelets.
So what happened next?
The community fought back. People started buying those same giant roosters at Tractor Supply and putting them in front of their own homes and businesses all over Ogunquit, Wells and beyond. Pretty soon the whole area was full of them.
What started as one little family story turned into a movement for autism awareness and support. The LeBlancs have said they're done dwelling on the fight. They've paid the fines, accepted the compromise that lets them keep two roosters at their home, and are putting their energy into something much bigger: raising awareness about autism and encouraging more families to consider adopting children from foster care, especially kids with autism.
Good for them.
I gotta tell ya, this is another one of those stories that reminds you communities can still come together when somebody's getting pushed around. And the last thing I'll say is this: I think that code officer oughta spend a weekend in a chicken coop. Keep your dukes up.
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