The World of Aviculture survives because of the deeds of special people. This page is dedicated to one of those special people, Mechele Hess, Higbee, Missouri.
Because of the extreme dedication and love this woman has for animals, feathered or furred, she salvaged three severely splay-legged quakers and didn't quit searching for a home for them until she was certain she could place all three together. Thank You Mechele -- This page is for you and your wonderful family.
The mission was to travel to Missouri, pick up three handicapped quaker parrots and return to Texas without accident, arrest, or any other major catastrophe. I travel light. One small plastic grocery bag for my clothes and a large suitcase to carry the necessities for hand-feeding a blind 7 week old Moustache 'keet, Stevie, the Wonder Bird, and a plucked naked baby cockatiel just pulled from the parents. The green pick-up truck with the Texas license plates was loaded and pointed north....mission underway.
People often ask me how I find my birds. I don't, the birds find me. Not all birds are 'throw-aways,' some just need new homes. This story happened because of a lady that has such an intense love for animals, she didn't stop looking for a home until she was certain all three could be placed together, knowing they would not survive separated due to their co-dependency. Because of Mechele, the Three MONKeteers came to Texas.
I left home about 5PM Friday evening and before I had gone two hours up the road, I broke my glasses; frames split, lenses on the floor under my feet and the accelerator. Now, these are trifocals and I'm blind as a bat without them. At least a bat has Sonar.
I made it close to Oklahoma City that night. I love this little motel, stay there a lot traveling back and forth through the midwest. There is a little junky-buy-anything-you-want store just down the road. Pick up some Crazy Glue, fix the glasses. Unloaded the truck, fed Stevie and the little 'tiel, put them nite-nite and then tried to get some sleep. Up and on the road again by 3:30AM
Not a lot open at that hour, however, I travel complete with lots of black coffee and munchies. A breakfast of potato chips and day-old coffee kept me going until McDonald's opened. Pull into the drive-thru for a sandwich and a cup of hot water to heat Stevie's formula. Next stop, gas station, fill-er up! Truck won't start...wonderful....minor little inconvenience. After much debating with all sorts of macho males hanging out in the service station, I decided my problem wasn't electrical...it was the shift lever. It wouldn't make contact in Park so the truck could start. By holding my head and mouth in a special position, saying a few choice words and tugging on the shift lever, the truck started. Off we go -- On The Road Again -- Just Can't Wait To Get On The Road Again!!
Each minor inconvenience seems to put us further behind and I really wanted to get to Missouri and back out before it was too dark. But, I was stopping every couple of hours to glue the glasses together. By now the truck smelled like I'd taken up sniffing glue for a hobby. Watch your speed, Helen...you don't need a cop sticking his nose in your window now! What is the smell going to do for the bird? Leave the windows open and cover the cages.
I drove through Kansas, up the turnpike, all the time paying attention to any potential difficulties I may have returning through this state that allows quakers only if you have a permit and permits are not available! Unique ruling. In my mind, I thought it would be OK just traveling through the state, but I didn't want to take any chances and my luck on this trip hadn't been the best! Just as I exited the turnpike at Emporia, I noticed several marked and unmarked police cars had several trucks pulled over for some sort of inspection. That was it. I decided then that I was not Dorothy, I was not traveling with a dog named Toto through Oz and we were not going home through Kansas!
By this time, I had spent all but about 4 hours driving time in fog, drizzle, and/or rain. I turned off I-35 and headed east onto I-70 at Kansas City. The fog hit me like a brick wall. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face and it had nothing to do with the lenses falling out of my glasses!! It was FOG. Fortunately the mess cleared up just about the time I headed north from the interstate toward Higbee, MO and my waiting treasures.
Many years ago I was stationed with the Army at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, but I seemed to have forgotten what wonderful roads there are in this area of the country! I slowed down considerably. The little blacktop secondary road going to Higbee is not much wider than my driveway. Hilly, crooked, narrow, winding, trees growing right up to the side of the road. There should be a law against roads like this, but then we would miss the beauty. But at this time, I wasn't interested in beauty. I was interested in making time! Every time I drove down into a valley, the fog was more dense than in the valley before.
I pulled into town, found a convenient store and stopped to use the pay phone to call Mechele for directions to her home. When I got off the phone, the clerk at the store asked if I was "One of those bird people." I said that I was and I was going to meet Mechele. He pointed outside and told me "Charles and his boy right there." I introduced myself to Mechele's husband and followed him to their home.
These are proud, down-to-earth people making do with what they have and always having enough to share with a visitor. Charles and Mechele are a young couple with two boys, and a love for animals that is immeasurable. Besides, these are "bird people." Mechele's primary concern was placing these three severely splay-legged MONKees in a home together. They had become physically and emotionally dependent on each other and she was not about to let them go until they could all go together. I would have loved to stayed for a long visit, but I would not be returning to I-70, just 30 miles down the road. I was headed for I-44, a good 2-3 hours away and it was late afternoon, still foggy and getting dark. I loaded up my precious cargo, Wiggles, Scooter, and Yoga -- three Big Green Dummies with six legs going in six different directions; I headed south and prayed!
I prayed that my glasses held together a while longer. I prayed that the truck would not break down in the middle of nowhere. I prayed that if it did, I would be on top of a hill and my phone would work. (I found my truck phone quite useless down in the Missouri Valleys.) I prayed that there would be somewhere open to get more coffee. By this time I was on a caffeine high and I did not want to get the shakes, start weaving all over the road, have a cop pull me over and smell that glue! This was the middle of Missouri and I was traveling light.....light in the head and light in the wallet.
But, stuff happens. Just about the time I thought I would be picking up I-44 at Rolla, I missed the sign and ended up headed an additional 20+ miles down the road for Dixon, MO. It has been a long time since I have traveled in that area. It was dark. I didn't recognize a thing...had no idea where I was...just keep heading southwest, Helen! Anyway I thought I was heading southwest, but after I crossed the Gascanade River three times, I was beginning to doubt my sense of directions. Actually, I was beginning to doubt whether I had any sense at all. I lived in that area of Missouri before coming to Texas in 1986 -- so much has changed.
Finally the interstate! I must have looked like many miles of bad road when I stopped for gas. The station attendant gave me TWO cups of coffee, FREE! He said I looked like I could use it. I stopped for the night near Springfield, MO. Found a really nice, 1950's vintage motel-- complete with a real bed and squeaking springs and a real blanket folded at the foot of the bed, not a stiff motel bedspread. I will admit, after opening the door to the room I did do a double check on the sign to make sure it didn't say "Bate's Motel," and I checked the shower for Janet Leigh and didn't see Anthony Perkins around anyplace -- so I unloaded. As luck would have it, my favorite restaurant, McDonald's, right across the parking lot. Feed the babies, settle in the MONKees, everybody go Nite Nite. All of this luxury for $19 per night. They just don't make motels like this anymore.
I was up and on the road again by 5AM...chips and day old coffee got me to the Waffle House in Joplin, MO. The sun still wasn't up but the places were opening for breakfast. Then it was the Oklahoma Turnpike -- watch out Texas, here we come!! Still had plenty of coffee to keep me going and plenty of glue to keep the glasses together. We were on a roll! By this time the quakers decided they were going to start talking and squawking. This went on for more miles than I care to remember. I started throwing them pieces of my breakfast sandwich hoping they would eat instead of chatter...but that didn't work...they can do both at the same time. In fact, Stevie decided to enter the competition and he started squawking as only a Moustache can squawk. There went the rest of the breakfast sandwich from the Waffle House. I wonder if that is recommended as weaning food. Stevie thought so.
Fortunately the fog lifted about 9AM, somewhere between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. There was nothing but open road between the little green truck with the precious cargo and Texas. My driveway came into view at 4PM Sunday evening. 1654 miles and 47 hours later. I was greeted by the whistles and love of the other 150 birds that call my place "home." Bo, my recently acquired blue-fronted amazon seemed a little upset with me. Wouldn't even take a peanut or piece of apple. Guess she didn't like being alone, after all, she was the newest resident and still in quarantine. Wonder who spoiled that bird! Little did I know then, that she would be dead in just over 12 hours. Necropsy declared the cause of death due to hemorrhaging in the brain.
Can't say I'd do this every week, but, there is a blue and gold macaw with a scissor beak in the Northwest somewhere....a blue-fronted amazon needing a new home somewhere near St Louis....the list never ends.
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