I've heard insanity described as, " doing the same thing and expecting different results." If that's true I guess I'm insane, at least when it comes to Odie.
Richard and I are attending a bird training workshop this weekend and while I was cleaning Odie's cage and getting his food ready I started to wonder if he was still a biter when it came to me. He has calmed down a lot and seems quite friendly and content most of the time. He is more gentle with Richard than he was and I hoped that he might have given up the desire for human-finger protein.
I talked to him as I usually do when his is out on his gym. He lets me get quite close to him and often blinks his eyes and puffs up and preens. Today he came over to the corner of his gym and dipped his head, his typical motion when he wants a head scratch. Richard has a hand signal he uses with Odie to show his willingness to scratch. I did the hand signal and Odie again dipped his head.
I figured I had to put this relationship to the test at some point so I took a deep breath to make sure I was steady and then reached out to gently scratch the top of his head. I got one scratch in and then he nailed me - hard - so hard that when I took my hand away, or tried to, I lifted him up by his beak.
When a bird bites you're supposed to push towards him which surprises him and makes him let go. Good theory if you can remember to do it. Since Odie was firmly attached I put my other hand underneath him and put him rather unceremoniously into his cage and closed the door.
I guess there's no doubt about who the nut case is in this scenario. I hope there will be something new this weekend or, at least, a new slant on the information we already have so that I can begin to work with Odie. We're great friends as long as the cage bars separate us but I would like to be able to handle Odie safely and give him the attention that he so loves. It would be much better for all of us. How do I convey that to the little green dragon with the lightning-fast beak?
I had Odie out of his cage before Richard came home because we had theatre tickets tonight and we wanted to be there early to pick them up at the box office. The play True Love Lies was very engaging and quite witty.
As we were walking out at the end a young man caught my eye and said, "Hi, I'm so glad to see you here." I looked over my shoulder thinking he must be talking to someone else. When I turned back, he was still looking at me. "You taught me drama," he said. "I remember all your classes and now I'm a drama teacher too." I asked him his name. I did remember his name but couldn't bring to mind where I had taught him. I think we exchanged a few more words and I hope I thanked him for stopping to speak to me. I wish him well in his teaching and hope that someday a student will approach him to let him know that he made a difference. Interesting how, in one day, small things can balance each other out.
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