Mary Beth Writes

Christmas Eve is when we remember that we are capable of wonder and astonishment. It is a day for unexpected light and warmth, for animals who speak, and for people who thought no one was looking - becoming the center of a love story.

Franc Garcia is my friend and many of you know him. (Franc's story) Franc has lived with rescued animals most of his life although he doesn’t tend to designate them as “rescued”. He calls them “my girls”.  Currently he lives with one supremely coddled, antique Italian greyhound named Maya. And Seema the Great Green Macaw. This story is about Seema, who once was called Paco (oh the ignominy).

Franc’s story: It was a Wednesday which is my weekly mental health day when I don’t take care of anyone else. I drive to Milwaukee for Indian food, thrift shopping, and checking out Razed&Found https://www.razedandfound.com/ . I’m “in the zone” on Wednesdays. It’s just me perusing stuff left behind by our throw-away world.  It’s my weekly pilgrimage to see what art and beauty has been lost, dumped, and left behind – and to rescue it if I can.

So I was meandering when my cell buzzed with a text from my friend Carol. I met Carol years ago when my partner and I were looking to adopt an Italian Greyhound. Carol runs the Midwest I.G. Rescue. Carol also works for a Humane Society in the Milwaukee area.  She was texting me from a meeting that she was in right then, where they were trying to decide what to do with a bird that they had just received. They were thinking of sending Paco to a bird rescue organization. That's when Carol remembered that when we first met, I had birds. So she made a fast video of the rescued macaw and asked me, still via our phones, if I knew anyone interested in adopting it.

I replied that I might be interested, but I needed more info.

I was told in that first conversation that Paco was taken from a home and they had him in a cat cage at the shelter.  They would be taking the bird to a vet check its health and have its DNA tested to determine its sex. And also, there was no cage to go with this bird.

No cage? Why not? That was weird. I was also eventually informed that an x-ray showed one wing at one point been broken. Probably the bird couldn’t fly.

Carol said I could have the bird for $100.00. That’s super-inexpensive for a macaw, I figured it must be a smaller Macaw, maybe a "severe macaw. She turned out to be a full-sized Great Green, which is a big and super-pricey bird to buy. From a breeder they can cost a thousand dollars.

“So we left it hanging a little. I probably wanted the bird, but I needed to see about cages and I wanted to hear results from the DNA test.

The very next morning I was taking my friend George to physical therapy in Kenosha. As I rounded a corner near his house his house I glimpsed of a cage leaning against the side of a house. After dropping George off I went back to that house and knocked on the door. No one was home so I checked out the cage which was NICE!!  I left a note asking if they had plans for the cage and if not I would be interested in buying it.

That night I got a text saying that I could have it for $40.00!

"SOLD!"

New it would have been $400-500.

Friday I drove to the humane society (with a dog cage) to pick up Paco and his food. On our way back we stopped for the cage. During our car trip, Paco was in the backseat mumbling and making little grunting noises as I talked to him.

The DNA & blood work results came in and - HE'S A GIRL!!  Other than the healed broken wing, she is healthy.  

After I cleaned the cage and set it up I put banana slices in the cage. Macaws love bananas. She threw them to the bottom of the cage. I gave her mixed nuts in their shells. She did the same thing, threw the nuts on the floor of her cage. Totally not what a macaw would be expected to do. “Danger, danger, Will Robinson”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG0ochx16Dg

I wanted to know more about this large, kind-of-bedraggled, lonesome, broken-winged macaw who didn’t say much, who didn’t recognize beloved macaw treats, and who didn’t come with her own cage. I contacted the Humane Society to see what they could tell me about her backstory.

The humane society had received a call from the police department. They had learned of a very elderly man who was living on his own porch because he couldn’t get into his house. The house had no electricity and no working heat. The responding officials wore masks because of the stench.

In the middle of the trash-filled living room were two tall bird cages, both filled with inches of filth.  One cage housed Paco who had somehow survived. The bird in the other cage was deceased.  When the Humane Society official reached in to get Seema, she didn't resist. Healthy birds are noisily suspicious of strangers.

This told me what I needed to know. This bird had no clue what the brown guy – that would be me - was putting into her food bowl because she had so rarely been fed.

We had a project ahead of us. I started eating bananas in front of her until one day she wanted some. That only took a week. I took a hammer to the nuts to crack them open so she would figure out that inside they contain Manna from heaven. I gave her orange wedges; that was love at first bite!  Her food dishes are attached to doors that swing open so you can change them out. These days, when I'm putting nuts or oranges in her bowl she reaches out and pulls her door back in so she can get her treats immediately.  I hung a squeaky toy from the top of the cage. At first she was afraid of it and would perch far away from it. Two weeks ago she untied the zip tie and now carries the toy around the cage while squeaking it and putting it into her water dish or food bowl. I love to hear her squeaky toy, I love knowing how busy she is in her new life.

She has figured out all on her own that she should be fed at 8AM and 5PM.  If I’m home and don’t feed her, she squawks and pleads until I do. 

After months of encouragement, after talking to her every time I walk past, eating my meals standing next to her, chirping and chatting and telling her what a lovely bird she is - she's beginning to act like the curious Macaw I thought she could be.

Her feathers are lackluster, she will go through molt and grow new feathers next year. I expect that with her new diet, she will be a astonishing beauty!

About a month ago I was reading a magazine that had a list of unusual and pretty names.  Seema struck my fancy and that is now her name.  She is a proper, healthy, well-fed, well-loved female macaw with a lovely bird name and a future of talking back to me, observing my life, adding to my pleasant days with her cheerful, messy, noisy ways. 

There is also this. In my life I have often fallen into depression. It’s not easy being a single older person with a lot going on in their life, some great, much of it a slog – but my bouts of depression haven't even reared their ugly heads since Seema came into my life.

Once Seema discovered what's inside a nutshell, she no longer needed me to crack them open for her. Now she opens them all; even hardest Brazil nut is no match for her vice-like beak. She just pops them open.

Maybe I am her biggest nut to crack. I’ve helped her figure out how to have a life. She is helping me do the same.

Which is our Christmas Eve story of the miracle of love.

Wild Great Green Macaws live in the humid lowland or the foothill forest edges in some areas of Central and South America. Because these are places where logging is stripping the land faster than it can regenerate, Great Green Macaws have become endangered. It is estimated there are less than 3500 of them left in Mexico and Guatemala.

Comments

Awesome story, MB! Merry Christmas to you and yours and Franc.

I love this ---- a lot! A perfect story for Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas to all creatures great and small, feathered or not. If you keep your heart open you never know what or who will walk in...

Hi, just read this today- found by accident- made this February day a good one❤️THANKS both/all of you
Mary Beth's picture

I brought a small pretty plant to my Mexican neighbors this afternoon. An hour ago they showed up at my door with chicken posole, pork in red sauce, SO MANY tamales, a spicy salsa that is over the moon delicious - and a basket with baby Jesus in it, sleeping on top of a nest of candy. Navidad arrived in our house and my heart is moved.

... Or what they will bring with them. My father used to say "To us Hispanics sharing food is sharing love." Why can't we keep this feeling going throughout the year and with everyone we meet?? Some people believe we need wall, but I think what is needed is love, common sense, decency and respect. Feliz Pascuas a todos. Or however you celebrate life.

Amen❤

Beautiful, evocative story! The story of Seema is asking us to see the gift that is in everything around us! Merry Christmas and thank you MB!

WOW! And so nice that Franc can't hide his true self..... Nice to be on the planet with both of you!

We are spending time with friends and their 2 dogs and I keep hearing about the pitiful lives they had and the trauma they still live because of this... It is why my Girls are not referred to as rescued. As ny ex Michael says you didn't run into a burning building to pull them out... My Girls are NOT defined by their past history and so why shackle them with that burden??

Add new comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Len’s Birthday

11/30/2023

Last week I mentioned that Monday of this week would be Len’s birthday. A friend remarked to me ever so kindly later that day, “I thought his birthday was the 30th?”

It is. Len’s birthday is the 30th. This same friend has commented to me, over the years, about how much I remember.

Covid Diary #1350 Thanksgiving

11/22/2023

Today is 1350 days since the that March Friday in 2020 when we all went into quarantine.

Today is 60 years since JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963. I remember that day, so does Len, so do many of you. Here’s a scary truth. We are as far today from that day – as that day was from the Wright brother’s first flight at Kitty Hawk on Dec 17, 1903.

Quarantine Diary #1349 Sci-Fi & Prophecy

11/21/2023

We both took Covid tests this morning and both of us still have pink lines. I asked the internet what this means and it says I might be pregnant.

I have a call into my doctor’s office to discuss. I feel so much better that if I didn’t know I have Covid, I wouldn’t know it. I’ve been sicker than this after too much pie.

Covid Diary #1347

11/19/2023

A few of you might realize yesterday we were 1345 days since March 13, 2020, and today we’re at 1347. Yup, I used a different calculator. Just a fun reminder that precision depends as much on asking the right question as doing perfect math.

I’m in day #4 of having Covid. No more chills. I have a fever of 100.4 which is more impressive than the 100.2 that Len achieved on his Day #4.  I’m taking various OTC meds and I keep track of them in my phone’s notes because, wow, it’s so easy to have no memory of the last time one took something. I’m good. Enough.

Covid Diary #1345

11/18/2023

I thought I was done with the Covid Diary but guess what? Len and I caught Covid this week! Actually, Covid caught us. We have continued to wear masks in stores, library, meetings, and our church so we will never know for sure where Len encountered Covid. And since I got it four days later, I guess we know where I got it…

My New Substack for Short Stories

11/11/2023

Let’s call this “Old Dog Versus New Tricks.” Does it feel to you as if I’ve been extra quiet these past months? It does to me. One big reason is that I’ve been figuring out Substack.

Here’s the deal: In addition to this blog, I’ve been writing more creative fiction. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I’m finally taking it seriously. I’m not giving up this website, but substack is going to let me concentrate on short stories and other stand-alone pieces.

What’s Substack?

Tag Cloud

9/11 17 minutes 500 Words A-Z AARPtaxes AAUW abortion Acadia accident Accountable Advent aging Alaska anniversary antibiotics antlers apples appointments Arrows art Ashland August Augustine aunts baby Badlands balance Baldwin Barbara Barkskins Beauty Becky Becoming Esther Berry birthday bistro BLM Blue BookReport books boy scout Bread BrokenDays BuyAngry Cabeza de Vaca Cahokia calendars Canada canoe cat romance cats cello Chicago China Choosing Christmas cilantro Cinnabuns circus climate change clouds Clowns clutter Colonialism comet ComfortZone CommonSense community consumerism Cops Corvid-19 Courage Covid-19 Crazy creditreport creosote crime CrimeShows danger DarkRiver death Debate December DecisionFatigue decluttering democracy dentist depression Destination Today Detroit Didion disasterprep dogs dollhouse Dreams Duty Easter eBay Echoes Eclipse election EmilyDickinson eschatology Esquipulas exit polls eyes Fable FairTrade family farmer Fata Morgana ferns firealarm Fitness Five Flatbread Flexible flu Food Pantry Fort de Chartres frame Franc FrancGarcia friends frugal FrugalHacks Frugality frustration Ft.Ticonderoga fungi fusion Galena Gannets Garden GarfieldParkConservatory Gaspe genius geode GeorgeFloyd gerrymandering ghosts gifts girls GNTL gorgons goulash GovernorThompsonStatePark Graduation grandkids granola Grief groceries Guatemala gum guns Hair happiness HaveYouEver? hawks healthcare Healthinsurance hearings heart heaven HelleKBerry heroes hike History home HomeRepair Honduras Hope HowCrowGotOutofJail humor hurricane Ice Cream idiosyncrasy igloos impeachment Innkeeper Instincts integrity InternetPrivacy Interview InviteMe2Speak James Baldwin Jan 6 Janus jewelry JoyceAndrews Judy JulianofNorwich Jump justice Karen kites ladder Lady Lamb LangstonHuges LaphamPeak laundry LeeLeeMcKnight lemming Len Light Lincoln Little Women LockedOut Loki loneliness LouisArmstrong Love Ludington Macaw macho Manitoulin MargaretFuller Maria Hamilton Marquette marriage Marsden Hartley masks Mayan MayaWorks meme Memories men Middlemarch MilesWallyDiego MindfulChickens Mistakes MLK moon Mother MothersDay mounds mouser movies museums must-haves Mustapha NAMI Nancy Drew Newfoundland New Mexico New York City Nomadland nope observation OBUUC Ocotillo OnaJudge ordinary OscarRomero osprey Outside oximeter Parade mayhem PastorBettyRendon Paul Hessert PDQ Penny persimmon photos Pi Pies pineapples pizza poetry Preaching privacy procrastination Protest QE2 Quern quest Questions Rabbit holes racism reading recipe recipes recommendations Remember RepresentationMatters Reruns responsetoKapenga Retirement rhubarb Ricky rime RitesofPassage romance Rosemary Ruether Roses Roti Ruth SamaritanWoman Sanctuary Sandhillcranes Santuario de Chimayo SaraKurtz SaraRodriguez satellites sci-fi ScottSimon sculpture Seasons Sermon ServantsoftheQuest sewing Shepherd Shontay ShortStory shoulder sick sickness Slower snow Social Security SofritoBandito solstice South Dakota SpaceShuttle spirituality spring square feet staining stars stele Stereotypes stories StoryStarts stream monitoring stress SUBSTACK Survival swim Talent taxes teenager thankgsgiving Thanksgiving TheBridge TheMaid ThePerpetualYou therapy ThreeBillBoards Three Thing ThreeThings Three Things TidalBore TimeBeing toddler Tom tortillas Trains travel Traveler Tubing turtle Twilight Bark Tyrone Ukraine Ulysses Grant Umbrella UnrelatedObservations Up North urgency vacation vaccine Valentines vanilla Vietnam vision VivianWokeUpDrowning Vocabulary vole volunteer WalkingAndSeeing Wampanaog war WarsanShire weather weaving Webs wedding whines WhyAttendChurch Wiley Willa WillaCather Wisteria Won! Wonder words Xeriscape Yellowstone Zebra
Ad Promotion