Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

Chapter 6

So then, Joe came into the Roseau Times-Region, were I work, carrying in with him my normal lunch.

My lunch, which he fixes, most days, consists of chicken made on our George Foreman grill, along with a ziploc bag of grapes. I have salt on my desk, So I have everything to make my chicken tasty.

The first thing he said to me was, “I had something ON my MIND this morning.” He had this look on his face. It is the same look he gets when something very berry special has happened.

I said, “Well, what has happened?” He smiled and folded his hands as he leaned back in the chair which he was sitting in, across on the other side of my desk.

“Well,” he said, “I was sitting at my typewriter working on my next column, when all, of a sudden, I heard a thump! Oh no, I thought, its another bird flying into my window.”

At that point Joe looked at me in a very serious way and continued. “I went outside and sure enough there was a very small bird sitting on the arm of the chair beneath my window.

I stooped over and carefully cradled it in my hands saying, ‘Oh, you poor little bird, that must have hurt’. Then I prayed a small prayer over him asking God to bless the little bird and raise him up, hoping he would be ok. I gently stroked his little head, he closed his eyes as I did that.

Then a very happy thing happened wife. He looked at me and chirped! Yes wife, he really did. And I chirped back.

We had a very nice time making bird noises to each other. And then wife,” and now Joe’s eyes got berry berry big, and he leaned over looking at me as I was chewing on my chicken.

“Wife, you would not believe what happened, that little bird flew into the air and landed right on top of my head. He didn’t just stand there, he literally nestled into my hair as if it were a nest!

He stayed there for about fifteen minutes, and then flew up on the top of the tree next to my cabin.” Oh my, I had to put my chicken down, “Joephus, that was amazing!”

Then I said “Remember that old guy in the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’ that had that rabbit pulled sleigh? He had a bird who lived inside his hat who pooped on his head.”

“Oh Joephus. Did he poop on your head?” “Yes wife,” he said with a satisfactory smile on his face. I thought, what an amazing man, and what an amazing moment.

Would you ever think that THAT would happen? Not in this world. Not in our back- yard. But it did.

My Joephus had a little glimpse of heaven, and will always remember it with a smile.

A bird in the “hair” is worth two in the bush.