Runner the Rooster

The strangest thing happened to me today at work. I was covering reception for my co-worker who had to take lunch, when in came a customer. He told me that he had found a very friendly rooster and was now keeping it as a pet. (Huh?)

The back story is this: about 2 months ago, a shop closed nearby. It was a Mexican family who owned some sort of Automotive shop, as I understand it. They had pet roosters, hens, and peacocks. When their shop closed, they opened their gates, let all the animals out, and packed up and left. All of the animals were left roaming the streets, abandoned.

This gentleman- Craig was his name- was at a nearby shop buying some fish food when his son said “Hey Dad! There’s a rooster in the yard!” Craig said, “remember that movie ‘Rocky’ that we watched the other day with Sylvester Stallone? Remember how he was chasing chickens to build up his strength?” The son thought about it and ran outside and started after the chicken. It took him an hour, but this 8-year-old kid caught the chicken. They named him Runner, and took him home. He has turned out to be the nicest chicken in the world!! He loves the family, he loves to be petted, and he even sleeps with the son IN HIS BED at night with him. You’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking, I’m sure… so I’ll tell you now that I immediately asked him. “OK, so ….. what about potty-training?” Craig said “you’re not going to believe this, but Runner actually sleeps with my son in his bed, and then when he has to get up to go to the bathroom, he wakes my son up and my son takes him outside. He does his business and they come right back in and snuggle back down in bed and go to bed.” Wow. The son and Runner have developed quite a relationship and they love each other dearly. The son even carries Runner around like a football under his arm as his primary means of carrying him, and Runner is just fine with that.

The reason Craig came in in the first place, though, is that Runner crows every morning at sunrise. Usually it’s around 5:30am. Craig’s neighbors love what they did in rescuing the rooster, but Runner’s crowing is getting on their nerves. He came to ask if one could de-crow a rooster. I said that I didn’t know, but I did a google search and apparently you can. Now it’s definitely not without it’s drawbacks, and I think it would be a tough choice to make, but this rooster LOVES this little boy. So I think that a life of enjoyment might be worth the de-crowing, depending on how difficult a procedure it is.

Anyway, here’s Runner. I met him, and I pet him for quite a while, and I feel very honored to know this young rooster.

Please have patience.

Friends, please have patience with me. I have recently forgotten what it's like to have enough time to breathe. I'm still figuring out how to get anything done, ever, with this much going on in life. I Have things to update you on and I will do so soon.

Thanks for your patience. And thanks, Ken, for always making me smile.

xoxox

Violet & Mollywobbles Dancing

I have spoken repeatedly about the beautiful and budding new relationship between my Violet and my Mollywobbles. Here's a video that you may enjoy, narrated by the fabulous and talented Bruce Dow.

Plymouth - Kitten Moments

I found some old footage of Plymouth tonight, and assembled it into a coherent and fun few moments. This is him around 7 weeks old, in May of 2008.

Friends and Life

I have the good fortune in my life to have two best friends.

The first, Erin, just got married in Seattle. She looked spectacular, and she glowed from every pore. She's a natural beauty anyway, but I've never seen her look so amazing. I'm so thankful to have been able to attend. Clinton is a wonderful guy and I think they'll be very happy together. They're currently living in Pittsburgh, PA with their two sassy cats and their one adorable dog. I'm thankful that I'm able to see them when I head back home to visit. They are the ones who took care of Violet this summer while we were in Canada, and she loves them to death.

My other best friends just happens to have moved to Australia. I met Ken when I first stopped by Wagville with Mollywobbles, and through some initially rocky times, we became best friends. We did a million things together; we travelled to Pennsylvania more than once, he shared Christmas with us in Franklin, and Applefest. We drove to Texas. We took a road trip to Vegas. We saw a building implode. None of those things was particularly more special than the other (except maybe Christmas and Applefest in Franklin) but it's always a good time when we're together. And now he's gone. It's very strange to have him so far away. I am glad that he went, as the trip and the lack of support system are something that he very much needed. But it still seems awfully weird to be without him. Tonight I was on Skype with him for a very long time (which, for those of you who don't know, is a free internet-based phone system) and we both had our webcams on. I talked to him for the longest time, and then his roommate came on camera to meet me. I said Hello to him, and he said hello back, but with an Australian accent. How weird. For a moment in time, I was talking to just Ken. I guess in the back of my head I think he's in Kansas or something, but nearby. It took hearing the roommate say 'ello for it to sink in. Ken's in Australia. He's probably not coming back, at least not for a very long time. He may not ever come back, and that may be the best thing for him. But oh how I miss him. Sometimes I wonder what in the hell it is about the world that I have to have money to go see my best friend!!! What a screwed up system when I can't afford to go see someone I love.

Regardless, I'm lucky to have two wonderful best friends. Throw the world's greatest husband into the mix and I might just be one of the luckiest people alive. There's nothing like a good friend. I'm finding that out more and more.