… is the first line of ‘October Song’ by the late and great Amy Winehouse. It also is
the line that came up when our pet bird Rocky flew out of the door on an early
morning last week. For the longest time, it had never been a big problem.
Sometimes he flew out when somebody left but only to land on the person’s head.
Bringing him back in then went without problems. Of course, his wings were
clipped so he could not go far anyway.
This time
however, it was different. A guest of a housemate had stayed for the night and when
they left the guest did not know about closing the door as fast as possible and
we simply had forgotten to mention it. When I said goodbye I looked and saw
Rocky, ready to take off. “The bird!” I shouted but it was already too late.
Rocky went out and had no plan to land on the guest’s head this time but
instead, he really flew away. The three ran outside and saw him going around
our neighbor’s house. The house is in a small compound accessible via a gate.
We went through the gate but out in the street, we could not find Rocky at all.
It was early morning and there was a lot of traffic. We crossed the street and
the guys told me they saw Rocky on the balcony of our neighbor’s house. The
man had just left to bring his kids to school. For over an hour we were running
back and forth between the street and the compound, whistling the tunes Rocky
knows so well and calling him but it was obvious that he had no intention to
show himself. I got quite nervous (after I got pissed first) because I know how
much the bird means to Willie. Busy getting Rocky back I also had to go inside
to read Willie’s messages and he told me help was on its way; a friend was
coming over. I told Paul he’d better go to work since someone else was coming
now. While waiting for the new help I went to the corner of the compound and street
with a plate and spoon. The idea was that if the bird would hear me eat some
fried rice he might come down since he likes fried rice very much. While eating
I did indeed hear him! I looked up and saw him flying. Flying away that is. He
crossed the street, high in the air made a slight curve to the left. And that
was the last I saw of our Rocky.
Now I had to
inform Willie and believe me, I felt terrible, knowing it was just impossible
to figure out where the bird could be. There are many side streets and of
course, I could not see where he went down. The friend arrived together with a
co-worker and all I could do was offering them a cup of coffee and tell them
what had happened. Willie and I kept sending messages back and forth during the
day and in one of them, I suggested he’d make a ‘poster’ that we could hang in
the main road. We searched for a good picture but it was already getting late
and Willie told me he was going to make prints the next day.
Do I need to
mention that is was a bit harder that night to fall asleep? It had started to
rain and I imagined poor Rocky getting wet all over, trying to find shelter. If
it was not already eaten by a cat!
The next day
Willie sent me a picture of the poster he had made. As soon as he arrived home
I took some and hang them on the wall of 3 stores. The owners know us so they
had no problems with it. While hanging them many people came to see what I was
doing and of course, I got the question “How much is the reward?” I honestly
could not give an answer since Willie had not mentioned it. In the bedroom that
night I told Willie I’d go out the next day to hang more posters and he told me
to wait till our housemate would come home so we could do it together. That
next evening P. and I went out to hang the rest of the posters which took us more
than an hour. So far, that was all we could do and we just had to wait until somebody
would call. I told Willie that I was afraid we would end up with 5 Rocky’s in
the end but fortunately that did not happen.
By now it was Friday, the fourth day without Rocky and yes I really missed his company
and his singing and talking. In the afternoon after coming back home from some
shopping our landlord was sitting on the front porch of his house and he told
me that 3 men had told him they had news about the bird. But he did not trust
them and told them there was nobody home. It was around 7 PM when Willie got
home and left immediately because the bird was found. I went out to have a
look, not understanding what exactly was going on. Just outside the gate, he was
there with P. and 3 strangers. They were about to go to Barretto where Rocky
was supposed to be according to one of the guys. That far? Impossible. But Willie
insisted on going there so I was left behind while our dinner was getting cold.
The guys got back home empty-handed. No Rocky. “But,” Willie said “We’re going
back there tomorrow at 7 AM. The lady did not want to disturb the birds with
light since it is already dark and the birds are sleeping now”. Frankly, I had
my doubts and I told Willie to make sure that the bird for sure was Rocky. “You
know he has a crooked toe on his left foot!?” He assured me he would not bring
some Rocky replacement. There is only 1 Rocky in this world.
Waiting for
the guys to return seemed to take hours and hours and when Willie finally came
in with only 1 poster in his hand he said: “It wasn’t Rocky”. Just when I was to
ask why the hell he then brought the poster P. came in with the cage. It was
the one and only Rocky! Rocky was back and Willie told me the story.
Construction workers had caught him and when a friend from Barretto came to
visit them he told about this lady there who was many cockatiels in a huge cage
in her garden so the guys sold it to her. Later they saw our flyers and
contacted P. via his phone number. I wondered if they were the same guys our
landlord had mentioned earlier but it did not matter anymore.
 |
| He's back! |
The first 2
or 3 days Rocky was not like the Rocky we knew so well. Maybe he was in shock.
Also, it seemed he had some sort of cold. Fortunately, in the end, he found his
old self again and now we enjoy his company again. Well… if he doesn’t start nibbling
on the wires and papers that is. And from now on, when somebody leaves the
house we make sure Rocky is safe inside his cage. His wings are cut but we are
just being extra careful now.
Love the ones you’re with and be
loved in return
By the way, have you read my other blog about the book promo?
By the way, have you read my other blog about the book promo?
http://dutchwriter2.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-new-breakthrough.html
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