From: bgt@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (barbara.tongue)
Subject: Re: Help Save Norm!!!
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 13:15:57 GMT
Summary: let's talk priorities here

In article <jensen.725661543@graphite10> jensen@rtsg.mot.com (James D. Jensen) writes:
->I have a 3-4 month old parakeet, who has become very attached to me.

now don't you just enjoy that nice warm feeling of a feathered companion
who is absolutely confident that the world rises and falls off your 
esteemed presence?  ah yes, those halcyon days of yesteryear, when my
first birdie (a conure named darry) declared to the gods above that
i was the Sole Purpose of His Existence....

of course, that was before the SO came into the picture...

->Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to like my girlfriend. 

really, we should think priorities here.  does your girlfriend
believe you are the Only Reason For Living?  this is tough
competition, y'know...  are you really willing to give up the
worship your birdie bestows upon you?  can your girlfriend
measure up?

darry, callous beastie that he was, designated my SO as the Real
Honest Reason for Existence.  Barbara who?  Oh, you mean the
person who refills the veggie dish?

->He was hand-fed
->and is very tame, always coming to the front of the cage when he sees
->me in the morning.  He can't seem to get enough attention from me.

That is the case with my current birdie, the yellow collared
macaw Angus.  What, I hear you ask, happened to Darry?  Stay tuned...

->The problem is, he often bites my girlfriend, and even left a mark on
->her nose the other day.  

Hmmm.  Angus, having bonded with me, often thinks of my SO as a

a.) large movable toy which sqeaks when you bite it
b.) public transportation

->Last night while he was in his play area I bought for him,  she started
->talking to him.  He saw me in the bathroom taking my contacts out (about
->15 feet away) and flew/ran over to me.  This didn't make my girlfriend
->too happy.  Other cases like this happen a lot too.  

Pardon me as i lean back in my chair, sigh in memory, and recall the
time my SO picked me up at the airport (i had been away for
3 weeks).  Darry (who was in the car), looked at me, yawned,
and scooted straight for the SO.  See Barbara say, birdie go
bye bye!  (I have *such* a fragile ego!).  See SO say, you mean
i can have him?

->Now she wants me to
->get rid of him.

now wait a second here.  your birdie will easily last 10 years or
so....is this true of your girlfriend?  love me, love my birdie!!
does she scatter more seeds than does your birdie?  (at least my
SO came equipped with a dust buster, something definitely in his
favor).  i mean, if this isn't the Tried and True All-Enduring Love
of the Ages (your girlfriend, not your birdie), why, the choice
is obvious.  the birdie will never complain about your treatment,
will always stop whatever he's doing to proclaim undying love,
lets you preen him whenver you'd like, etc.

does your girlfriend have all this to offer?

->I know it may be hopeless, but is there anyway to get a bird to like
->someone else.  

HO HOHOHOHOHO HO HO HO HO HO HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO HOH OHOHO!!!!!!!!!!

<ahem>.  why of course! <NOT!>  i've gotten angus to the point
he doesn't play Target Fire Zone with various parts of my SO's
body, but it's tough.  it takes months and months.

->I have become attached to him, and I would hate to get
->rid of him, but if she is going to be in a bad mood because of him
->everytime she is over, I may have to get rid of him.  I know he would
->miss me as well.  Hopefully I can stall for awhile and they will get
->along.

the answer here, fellow birdie lovers, is obvious.  a birdie's love
is Sacrosant and a Priviledge and Not to be Tampered With!!  perhaps
the answer is to buy another house in which to lodge your birdie
(or girlfriend) until your girlfriend learns that You and Your
Birdie are a Two-for-One package.  or possibly you might want her
to buy her own birdie so as not to be jealous.  

in my case, my SO got darry (who really enjoys tormenting me now),  and
i now have angus (who my SO would love to send to Deep Space Nine).
i've bought a broom for the Birdie Veggie Rejects, and try to 
keep him (the birdie) from sharpening his beak on my SO's nose.
it's a series of compromises!

And you'll live happily ever after.  honestly.  trust me.  really!
-- 
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Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds