Bye-Bye Birdie

I talked to my mom today on my break and she told me that her cockatiel, Rodney, died last night. How sad. Rodney came to live with my mom when I was still in elementary school to the best of my knowledge. She had him for more than 15 years. She said that she cried as she took his cage down.

She's allergic to pet dander, so we never had an indoor dog or cat. Outdoor pets didn't fare too well, either. Our yard was not entirely fenced, and my mom felt bad about chaining an animal up. We lived on a pretty busy street, so the lives of most animals we had did not end well. So we turned to small animals. At one point, she had 3 cockatiels and I had a guinea pig.

I don't know if she'll get another bird to replace him. I'm sure her house sounds empty without him. He would whistle at you as you walked by, and he loved the theme song to the Andy Griffith show. Farewell, Rodney. May the gods watch over your bird soul.