The Story of the Bird and Hurricane Hazel

This is a story of responsibility and the effects that it has on others, especially on those you least expect.

In my growing years, we had several pets. A dog named King, too many cats to count, a crow (that’s another story), and several parakeets. While the dog and cats were outside animals, the parakeet would be the only official inside pet. We loved to hear the bird’s sounds and we all consider the parakeet as Mom’s official pet.

Mom would clean the cage every other week because great care was needed for the bird and in the cleaning of the cage. The best part of cleaning the cage was that it was the only time that the bird could fly around the house. When the cleaning was in progress all the doors and windows had to be closed and all of us, girls, had to stay in the house. No one was allowed to go outside until the bird was safely backed into the cage. We love to see the bird fly and it was a contest on who could get the bird to land on our outstretched finger.

One day it was decided that the cage needed cleaning, but Mom was not home. Since we had watched Mom cleaned the cage so often, we figured that we could do the job carefully and correctly. We really didn’t want to clean the cage, we just wanted to watch the bird fly, but I had forgotten one of the rules, one of the sisters was outside playing.

With all the windows and doors closed, the bird was set free. During this process, the cage was cleaned very slowly. We were too busy watching the flight of the little parakeet. Then the unthinkable happened. The one sister left outside came into the house and the bird got his ultimate freedom of the great outdoors.

I was so upset. I yelled at the sister who let the bird out and ran to find my little feather friend. Of course it wasn’t my sister’s fault, it was mine. I had forgotten the only rule that had been set to protect the parakeet. I called and looked in all the trees for hours. Mom joined into the search. She reminded me that the bird was probably close by since he would be scared of the new environment. Then the wind started picking up. Mom led me inside because a storm was coming.

That storm was Hurricane Hazel. The wind was so strong that it felt like the top of the house would blow off. When the tree branches hit the house, I thought the windows would break. It was my first hurricane that I could remember and it was very frightening for this little girl. I was frightened of the storm, but I also was frightened for the pet parakeet. I could just image that the wind just blowing him away. The parakeet was never seen again and to this day I wondered what happen to that little bird.

The morale is that rules are made to protect us and everyone around us. To break the rules or even bending the rules can have lasting effects for your entire life.