Chuck and Larry

These are my birds. The birds name are Chuck and Larry respectively. They look identical and most can not tell them apart from each other however, if you watch them closely for several minutes you will find that one has a stronger personality and the other one has very vibrant coloring on its' little feathered body.

My father gave a beautiful antique bird cage to my daughter several years ago. I was apprehensive about that bird cage for several reasons. One, if you have a bird cage you usually have birds and two, if you have a bird cage with birds you usually have a cage full of bird mess and three, someone usually has to clean that bird mess up once the birds mess and I knew that that special someone to clean the mess was going to be me.

I think there might have been some miscommunication between my daughter and her grand father when the bird cage exchange began. She was interested in receiving the cage not so much the birds. But, not long after he arrived at our house for a visit they were both at the pet store purchasing birds. They were also purchasing bird food, swings, perches, bird liter and so on….. My daughter was not going to disagree with my father as long as it was his idea and the idea did sound good at the time.

The first week my daughter adored the birds. The second week they were moved out of her room into the family room and then when the cage needed cleaning she insisted she didn’t have time. I inherited the birds and the cage and to this day, I feed, clean, care and try to love the birds. It’s hard to imagine an attachment to birds although I will say, I’m attached.

Last night I had to cover them up with yet another blanket to ensure that they would be warm because we were having unusually cold weather. In the middle of the night they started singing, chirping or barking, if you will, and I woke up in a state of panic. I couldn’t tell if it was one bird making all the noise or both. I laid there thinking it was going to stop, then I got to thinking to much and starting wondering if something was wrong with one bird or the other. I arose from my bed only to discover that they were thirsty and I proceeded to give them some water. Their chirping stopped.

Chuck and Larry need each other. I don’t really know if it is a Chuck and Larry, it could be a Chuck and Mary or a Mary and Larry, you get the idea, but what would I do if one of the birds fell ill and died or better yet, what would they do? These birds have been caged together for three and a half years. If one bird flys to one side of the cage the other one follows. If one sits on the swing, the other one joins in and if one eats, the other one watches. They are two birds joined as one.

After I got my birds settled this little incident reminded me of the beauty of God’s creation. He created purpose in everything and the need to need each other even if it’s birds. We all need companionship, comfort, security and all the feelings that go with life.

My birds do not fly onto my hand when I reach in to pet them. Matter of fact, my birds fly away when I come near them. Maybe they have sensed my feelings from the very beginning.

On the 5th day God had created birds. He blessed them and God was pleased. Genesis 1:20-23

My birds are here to stay even though I sometimes wish Chuck and Larry would fly, fly away.