Vitality Stories

A Bird in the Hand

Maybe you like my storytelling, but my two younger brothers can entertain an entire table of people with their stories. For hours. They have a gift for telling true stories that will make you laugh until you cry. If they team up, you’ll have a hard time catching your breath.

Left to right: Karsen, Teri, Adam

So while I don’t expect to do it justice, I thought I’d share one of my favorites.

Several years ago, my brother Adam owned a solar tube business in Arizona. It was a crazy hot business. He was either on a rooftop in the scorching sun or crawling through stifling attics.

One day, it was especially hot and Adam was on a client’s roof. Out of nowhere, a parakeet landed on his shoulder. It scared the crap out of him, and he almost fell off the roof. He shooed “the damn bird” away but it kept coming back to his shoulder, like he was a “damn pirate.” After a bit, Adam gave up–he had a job to do after all–and let it sit on his shoulder, positive the bird would eventually get bored and fly away or maybe even die. But the parakeet was still perched on Adam’s shoulder as he climbed down the ladder (at this point, my brother would add sound effects as he pantomimes the descent: do-do-doooo).

The homeowner had never seen the parakeet before. It was time for Adam to work in the attic but the bird was persistent. Resigned and worried about the heat, Adam turned the air conditioning on in his van and the bird flew inside.

As soon as he wrapped up the job, Adam hopped in his van, happily welcomed by his new best friend, and called Animal Control and the SPCA–neither had a solution Adam felt great about. So he tried once more to make the bird fly away. Continue reading →