Anyway, at this great bed and breakfast where I’ve been staying, the owners love animals. They have this massive dog heavier than I am walking around the house (it has taught me never to show fear around dogs … they really can smell it!), as well as a little one, just for good balance. I’m allergic to dogs (and kiwifruit, incidentally).
But the most annoying animal they have is this rare grey African parrot worth $1000, I discovered, and come from obscure parts of South Africa. This thing is unbelievably noisy, particularly when there are people around (attention seeker!). When I’m having breakfast each morning, this thing – Jethro – does NOT shut up, shouting “Hello” around 5,000 times an hour, making this annoying whistling noise inbetween words. How it manages to achieve continuous sound seemingly without breathing is simply a medical phenomenon. For some reason, everyone (especially the owners) loves this bird, and many guests to the house play with it – often with the cage open (anyone who has seen the Hitchcock movie ‘The Birds’ will think twice before doing this).
On Saturday, however, Jethro flew away. Initially I was elated – finally I could watch TV over breakfast in peace! – but when I saw how sad the owners were that Jethro was gone, I felt terrible (and somewhat guilty for feeling elated earlier). They tried to put on a happy face for us guests, but I could see in their eyes how sad they were that one of the family was gone, presumed alive, but possibly dead.
For days we searched in vain, making whistling noises and trying to see if any of the locals had picked him up, but to no avail. We even prayed for Jethro in church! The days wore on, again, no change. The rain came. We worried that the thing would freeze – or worse – already been killed by a car, maybe some local looking for some feathers or a snack.
But, just a few minutes ago, we got a call that someone had found the parrot (we’re picking it up tomorrow). Oh, the sheer elation! I remember the look of excitement in the eyes of the owners, the excited jitters a child gets when opening Christmas presents, the sleepless nights before holidays started for primary schoolers. It’s an emotion of joy we (sadly) experience less and less as we get older and older, but what a buzz to be around!
My favourite writer Phillip Yancey once discussed a time when he had lost 4 months’ worth of book manuscript on a work trip, only to have it returned by a cleaner a few days later. I still (roughly) remember his words:
“It was a heartwrenching loss. How could I ever write those chapters again? … But when it was found, the joy of finding that manuscript far exceeded any joy I ever had in writing it in the first place.”I’m not going to enjoy having Jethro back. But hey, it was too quiet around the house anyway. And it is great to be part of a “was lost, but not is found” story! And a great reminder for me.
Blessings
john
ps this is NOT the parrot (I presume), but the WORST chicken I had on my trip, in Lichinga ... tiny little fried thing (I ate it anyway, out of duty ...)
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