|
Written by Mark Blair
|
|
Thursday, 28 January 2010 18:57 |
I recently lost an old friend that I have known for 25 years. His name was Oliver and he was my African Gray parrot.
 Like most friends, I didn't choose him; he chose me. As I walked over to a huge cage containing a dozen baby birds, all but one of them ran to get to the other side. One clung to the side of the cage as I approached and clucked at me as if to say "Do you see me? Do you see me?"
"That's the one" I said to the shop owner as I pointed to the bird soon to be known in my household as Oliver.
Like most friends, Oliver could make me laugh! When I'd walk into the room, he would inevitably ask me "Whatcha doin'?" or meow like one of the cats. Or meow like me meowing like one of the cats! And he never failed to make me laugh when he would dance, stamping his foot and clucking his bill to the beat of a song!
Like most friends, Oliver could make me cry. About six months after bringing him home, he began to pluck out some of his feathers, a habit he continued throughout his life. I searched for a cause and realized that it started the moment I brought a new girlfriend over to my apartment, something I hadn't done for the previous six months. Without thinking, I had stressed Oliver by bringing someone over that competed with his time with me. He never again had a full set of feathers on him, a constant reminder to me to be more mindful of the impact of my actions on all of the beings around me.
 Like most friends, Oliver made me think and challenge my own beliefs. After bringing Oliver home, I began to research African Grays and discovered an animal psychologist named Irene Pepperberg. She did research on an African Gray parrot named Alex, first at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard and Brandeis University.
Pepperberg wrote that Alex's intelligence was on a par with that of dolphins and great apes. She also reported that Alex had the intelligence of a five-year-old human and had not even reached his full potential by the time he died (Alex was 31 when he died). She said that he had the emotional level of a human two-year-old at the time of his death in 2007.
I began to be more aware of Oliver. I covered his cage at night as he said "See you in the morning!" Uncovering him the next morning he'd greet me with "Mornin'!" While I'm eating "Mmm...is that good?" Leaving the house with my jacket "See you later!" His responses were always said at just the right moment.
Because of Oliver, I have never looked at our feathered friends the same since.
Read more about Alex and Irene Pepperberg online at The Alex Foundation.
Like most friends, Oliver taught me about humility. Some nights, usually late, he would decide it was OK to shriek at the top of his lungs (how can those little lungs make SO much noise?). I would ask him to be quiet. Now, how effective is it to ask a two-year-old to be quiet?
Frustrated, I would throw the cover over his cage and tell him he had to go to bed because he was being a "bad boy". Sitting on the sofa, while watching TV or reading, I'd look over at Oliver's cage and see him on the bottom, peeking out from beneath the cover at me. When he caught my eye he would make a soft "Pssst' sound and say "Hi" very quietly until I would quietly say "Hi, Oliver" back at him. Satisfied that I wasn't mad at him any longer, he would walk back up to his perch and go to sleep.
Yes, that's when I'd feel like a jerk!
Like most friends, now departed, I will miss Oliver dearly! The 25 years with him was not nearly enough! I kick myself for the times I felt that I took him for granted and for any moment that I didn't treat him with the respect that this intelligent little guy deserved.
Oliver, you taught me SO much, gave me SO much joy and laughter!
Like most dear, old friends, you have left your mark forever on my life!
Whatever the next life looks like for me after this one is exhausted, I fully expect to be greeted into it by a "Pssst...Hi...Whatcha doin!"
Oliver - The African Gray
Rest in blissful peace, my Dear Old Friend.
|
|
Last Updated on Thursday, 28 January 2010 23:48 |
