$1.3 million buys a lot of bird seed - and a lot of head shaking - - and a lot of head shakingHide Details

Some may chirp that Cress was bird-brained for leaving so much money to such a narrow cause. Compounding the incredulity is the sad reality that the city - or any city along the Peninsula for that matter - could easily use those funds to re-hire a police officer, re-instate library hours or provide a multitude of social services.

Instead, the money will create the G.R. Cress Birdbath Fund. Baths and feeders with plaques will be installed at area parks by the end of the year (no word yet on which model the city will go with although bestnest.com reports the Misty Bird Bath in cobalt blue is a top seller, currently on sale for just under $100). Cress may be gone but his name will live on.

But something tells me Cress' motivation when he handwrote his will in 1976 was not self-promotion. Twenty-eight years ago, I doubt Cress could fathom how much money his home would be worth. Instead, I think he just had a passion for birds. As strange as it sounds is it really any odder than the passions any of us have? There are other folks who leave their dollars to a specific pet or an unusual cause. If you're Mel Gibson, your personal wallet funds a movie about Jesus Christ that nobody thought would draw crowds.

The difference, I guess, is that even if I win the lottery I feel pretty confident that I won't be establishing the Michelle Durand Coffee Fund for the Caffeine-Addicted or the Overpriced Shoe Foundation. But you never know. If, like Cress, I have no close friends or family, why let my estate by siphoned into the federal government. Why not let it do some good even if that purpose is as flighty as bird care?

What would be even better is if Cress' nest egg can help other beneficial programs or changes take flight. Perhaps the baths and feeders will be such a hit with the avian community that they will draw the flocks away from the Bayshore. That should appease the feral cat advocates. Perhaps the fund can be used to ensure that the parks in which the baths and feeders sit are kept up so that humans - as well as birds - can enjoy them. Perhaps the terms of the will are loose enough that any laid off city workers can be re-hired as bath maintenance workers or feeder security. That's not quite the same as a police officer position but it certainly has to be better than unemployment.

Michelle Durand's column "Off the Beat" runs every Monday and Sunday. She can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.