Joey Sharing Breakfast

This is for Ollie_Girl, mom to Ollie, Mary Lucy, and Bobby.

Joey was our family cockatiel. Hatched in '82, she lived a very long, VERY happy life. Here she is "sharing" breakfast with us. It's a scan of a 35mm that is in a frame - something spilled onto it during the move to PA, and I can't take the photo out without ruining it. :(

Joey (short for Josephine) was part of the family - in fact, we're pretty sure she considered herself human. Although "officially" she was Mom's bird, Joey's heart belonged to me - she followed me around the house like a puppy. When I would take a nap, she'd turn into a butterball and sleep nearby; she'd cry if I left the room without her, flying after me to land on my shoulder; when my car neared the house, the "Joey alarm" would go off, so joyful was she that I was coming home. Of course, she also chewed up her share of artwork and homework, stole plenty of salad and pasta from our plates, and throw toy racetrack cars off the table just to see them hit the ground, but isn't that part of the fun of owning a 'tiel? Honestly, I could write a book about her.

Sometimes I'd wonder if she was a feathered angel, a gift from God to help us laugh. I'm still debating that one.

She died in the spring of '99 - the Wings were in the playoffs, and we'd been listening to the game at work that night; it was when Darren McCarty got into one of his famous scraps. It's been almost ten years now...it certainly seems like a lot longer. I still remember Dad coming to meet me that day as I returned from work; she'd dozed off in her cage after eating some millet and didn't wake up. He actually drove down the street to meet me in my car - as soon as I saw his truck, I knew something was horribly wrong. I cried all night, and off and on for the next few days. After all - I'd known Joey for as long as my memory went back.

I really miss her, sometimes terribly. She was a sweet, loving, affectionate little doll of a bird. It probably sounds silly to a lot of non-bird people, but if you've ever had a dear avian like this, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm getting teary just writing about her!

Anyhow, Ollie_Girl and I had been talking birdy babies, and she couldn't find any photos of mine (of course, there weren't any digicams back then! lol). So, here you are. My little baby. :) I'll have to dig up my albums and see if there are more.

BTW, this shot was probably taken in...oh...1990 or '91. She was a particularly pretty cockatiel - the breeder had wanted to keep her as a hen, but decided to sell her to Mom & Dad after all, since they fell in love with the little baby bird. Thank the Lord for small (large?) blessings. :)