Journal Prompt- National Bird Day is in the Month of January. Share a Personal Bird Story.

 When I think of bird stories in my life, I think of two stories. One occurred with my daughter's pet bird Kiwi. Kiwi was a parrotlet.  He was a  beautiful little bird, but a mean little bird. His only love was for my daughter and the rest of us; he despised. Those of us not in Kiwi's good graces were victims of his attacks. He would lower his head, stick out his beak, and charge anyone who got in his way. Kiwi loved Erica, but she too was the recipient of his many attacks but on a lesser scale.  

The other bird story that I recall involved my beloved brother, Burce. Bruce had Downs Syndrome, and he was a joy. He and I would go on outings and adventures together. One excursion took us to a farm to go horseback riding. As we were walking to the barn that day, we were being followed. An angry goose was in pursuit. This goose had us in his sights; he put his head down and began to chase us. Instinctively we started to run. We heard a staff member of the farm shout, "don't run!" We stopped, turned around, and saw the goose was running full speed towards us. I did not know what to do; I was ready to fight if the need presented itself. Bruce, on the other hand, sprung into action. Bruce had two favorite TV shows: the Six Million Dollar Man and the Incredible Hulk. He took what he had learned from watching his shows and put it to good use. Bruce, before my very eyes, turned into The Hulk. He faced the goose, gave a roar as the Hulk is known to do, and went on the offensive and started to run toward the goose. Amazingly, the goose was overcome with fear and took off in the opposite direction. Bruce saved the day!

Bruce and I often recalled the day the goose chased us down. I could tell he was proud of the fact that he was the hero of the day. It has become one of my fondest memories.

KathieyV