"The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises...
A gold feathered bird
sings in the palm." Wallace Stevesn 1879-1955 "Of Mere Being." 1957 st 1, 2
The last few days have been rather productive and now we're at the beginning of a new week I am ready to launch into more of the novel. I finished revisions on a Literary Travel piece, sent it off as requested. And wrote two travel bits for www.pothos.org travelling to Alexander sites.
Then I went over part of the new chapter for Shadow where I'd done some revision as suggested by my writer's workshop last week. Tomorrow I should finish that and get on with a new chapter segment.
I have a lot of friends who are writers, and this weekend spent quite a bit of time with various people, starting on Thursday when I had lunch downtown with M. one of the women from my Memoirs and critiquing group. I stayed in all day Friday writing, invited G. for dinner and had a pleasant evening talking (mostly he wanted to know the story of A.) Saturday I had a nice surprise when a Peruvian writer I know invited me for lunch. Over a bottle of Chilean wine, home-made ministrone, accompanied by excellent classical music, we talked the afternoon away, mostly discussing writing and life. And again today, I was invited to my friend M.J.'s for a little wine & sandwich soiree to meet her folks from the U.S. and mostly all the women there were from my writer's groups. An inspiring lot to hang out with!
In addition to the real live writers I know, I seem to have acquired a new writing buddy at home. His name is Cheeky. He's a grey and white cockateil with a yellow crested head and rosy cheeks. He can say a couple of words, but mostly he loves hanging out with me, follows me everywhere I go or perches on my shoulder. I adopted this feathered scamp a couple of weeks ago from the Grayhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary. I'd had a cockateil for a couple of years but he unfortunately died last year. He was the same colour and exactly the same name "Cheeky", but he wasn't hand-tamed and we communcated mostly with whistles. This little guy, Cheeky #2 actually seems to think he's a person. Friday night when G and I were having dinner, he dived right into my wine glass and had a few gulps, then waddled around the table pecking samples of the dinner (he loves potoates and even tried the chicken livers --- tsk! what a cannibal!)
He can be a pest, and that particular night got very hyper, like a naughty three-year old on a sugar high. I had quite a time getting him into his cage and boy, was he mad! He puts on his fierce eagle scowl, spreads his winds and hisses at me. Tough little guy!
Mostly, he loves sitting on my shoulder, nesting in my hair or observing me from the top of my computer when I'm working. I think he want's to be a writer. At best, I'm trying to teach him a bit more vocabulary. We once had a budgie who's favorite expression was "Wanna beer, Bert?"
I expect Cheeky to take up the refrain 'Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" (Especially with the Christmas season coming up.)
He is a kind of small parrot, indiginous to Australia, and a very adept flier even though his flight feathers are clipped. He zoofs around my apartment and finds me no matter where I am.
At least I know what costume to wear next Hallowe'en. I always did like pirates and now I have my very own little parrot to perch on my shoulder!
"Keep a green bough in your heart
and a singing bird will come." Chinese proverb.
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7 comments:
Aw, that's cute.
Do you think you can managed to get a pic of him up here?
I'm thinking I ought to get him a little beret and scarf. Maybe I should change his name to 'Jack" or "Ernest"???
Cheeky is a great name for him - chat a characer!
I used to have a green paroqueet but he never talked (and I never learned how to spell parakeet, lol)
He never used to stay in his cage except at night. And he loved to walk around the dinner table 'sampling the food', lol.
His name was Buddy (not very orignal)
Years ago I had a lovely blue parakeet who sang while I typed. He was so much fun! I'd love to have a bird again, but not as long as I keep a cat--whose pretty talkative herself. d:)
Cheeky hates his cage because he thinks he should be doing whatever I do. I don't think he realizes he's a bird. Today he kept waiting for me on top of the computer. (hint, hint...'mommy why aren't you writing?'...)
When I get some photos of him and figure out how to post there here, I will try. Perhaps one of him standing guard over me on my pillow while I sleep?
I love this story. Makes me want a parrot. And I've never wanted a parrot. Shows what a good writer can do!
This little birdie also likes to eat paper and chew on cardboard, such as one of my very old photo frames (of me as a toddler) which he has now chewed around the edges. And I keep finding pages of MSS and other papers with nibbles along the edge. Watch the books! He'll devour them!
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