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CNN SUNDAY MORNING
Interview With Arthur Weed
Aired August 4, 2002 - 11:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you're not quite awake or alert just yet, this one just might get you going. A foul showdown is brewing in Savannah, Georgia. It seems a group of neighbors want to make Fred, the rooster, a jailbird. But Fred's owner is putting up quite a fight. Arthur Weed joins us by phone now.
And, Arthur, you got your rooster Fred on doctor's orders. Explain that one.
ARHTUR WEED, OWNER OF FRED THE ROOSTER: Oh, goodness gracious. He said to go back to the good life I was doing before, which was organic gardening and low cholesterol food. And now I'm eating fast food. And this is such a good fight to fight, compared to mosquitoes and fire, goodness gracious, how lucky we are.
So, this is also a stress buster for you, too, as well. You live in the city. You don't live in the country. But having a rooster and hearing those soothing sounds of his wake-up call seem to relax you a bit.
WEED: Miss Whitfield, you couldn't have said it better.
We live in such mechanical sounds in this world, one doesn't even know how we are hit these terrible sounds. Not just emergency vehicles but just loud vehicles or just any type of a mechanical sound that takes place on a busy city street.
WHITFIELD: So, that's your best defense? This is on doctor's orders, but your neighbors aren't so happy about hearing Fred all the time. How often are they hearing Fred during the day?
WEED: It's interesting. The immediate neighbors around me just love the bird and I've had tremendous support throughout the city in regards to the pleasantness and the peace of the crowing of the cock rooster.
I do have a couple of neighbors that live on the corners of the blocks that complain for some reason. I don't know why they can't seem to just go ahead and relax about this and pay attention to things that are really important rather than frivolous.
Well, Arthur, let's give listeners and viewers a chance to hear Fred's noises, or his sounds, and let's listen in.
[ROOSTER'S CROW]
WEED: I thought about that, Miss Whitfield, that I would go out back and see if he could go. And then I'd go out front let you hear the trucks and the --
WHITFIELD: Well, we can here him, right now. At least, through the beauty of our videotape.
WEED: Oh, that's from the videotape.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
WEED: I thought I heard him in the background. I was beginning to question myself.
I hear there are other roosters in the neighborhood.
WHITFIELD: This is getting quite costly for you, isn't it? I mean, you've been in court quite a few times. You've seen judges at least on three occasions; you've been in court at least six occasions. It's cost you $640 in fines. And now they want to back to court tomorrow. What's going to be your argument?
WEED: I'm asking for support tomorrow, it's at 2 o'clock in the recorder's court. It's really kind of a strange bag of worms. We got a few clerical errors and ordinance disagreements and we have petitioned the city in regards to having the natural sounds of a rooster, why it shouldn't be condemned. And we have a lot of eggs in a basket, so to speak.
WHITFIELD: Ha, ha.
WEED: And we hope to sort them out in some good fashion.
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, the city ordnance -- one city ordinance at least allows you to have chickens within 100 feet, I suppose, of your property. And it also includes hogs, right? Or is that something like the ordinance? You're not going to be going that far?
WEED: No, Miss Whitfield, we're not allowed to have swine.
(CROSS TALK)
WHITFIELD: Okay, good. So you're not going to take the farm animals any further than Fred the rooster?
WEED: You're absolutely right in regards to the ordinance and the zoning and the distance and so forth. And we're in good obligation to all those rules and we're doing our best to abide by the courts and the city. And we are just trying to fight a good fight for a good, natural sound.
WHITFIELD: OK, well, whatever floats your boat, so to speak. And if it's working for you, hopefully it will work out for your neighbors, too. WEED: You know, it's a funny thing, roosters have been around for a thousands of years and there was a real important one that Peter heard, 2,000 years ago. And he's got a good reason and we stand behind him.
WHITFIELD: OK. Arthur Weed, thank you very much for joining us. Appreciate it. Good luck to you and Fred the Rooster, and good luck to your neighbors, too.
I'm not taking sides here. Thanks a lot.
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