My sister, Sans Souci, and I had a bird that our mom got us. It was a Java Finch that we got at Woolworth’s (yes, Woolworth’s had birds). I don’t remember who named the bird Gigi (we pronouced it as “gee-gee”, like the movie), but it was probably Sans.

The above photograph is not of the actual bird we had. I uploaded a picture of one off the internet just to give you an idea of what it looked like. The one we had was much prettier, much whiter, with a bright red beak. I think it was a female. The females have shorter tails.

One of the nicest features about the bird we had was that it had a very particular song that it would sing when it was in the mood, and I would definitely recognize the song if I heard it again. Maybe Sans, The Great Techie, could locate a sound bite and help me add it to this blog. I would love that !

Taking care of the bird was not hard, except when you had to clip its nails. I don’t remember how often this had to be done, but our mom did everything. She put on rubber gloves, stuck her hand in the cage and would gently grab the bird. This was not easy, because it would get very nervous and sometimes would get loose around the house ! I would get very excited when this happened because it was a rare chance for me to be able to pet the bird on the head and hold it after our mom did the nail clipping and was about to put the bird back in the cage. Walking around with it made me feel like Barretta (remember that show with Robert Blake, a detective who walked around with a damn Cockatoo on his shoulder ?).

The bird was around for a few years, but I don’t remember how many. It was very friendly, and would often move over towards me if I approached the cage to see it. Sometimes it would sing its song if I talked to it enough.

I don’t remember how old I was, or if Sans moved out of the house yet, but I was alone with the bird when it passed away one day. I remember crying as I watched it lose its balance, fall to the bottom of the cage, and just collapsed with its beak that used to be bright red turn pale pink and blue. I remember calling vets on the phone, trying to get help, but I knew at that point, there was nothing I could do. It was not breathing anymore. I believe that may have been the first time that I experienced losing someone close.