Next Sunday: "In those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile , in their daily perseverance I see holiness," writes Pope Francis in his third apostolic exhortation, Rejoice and Be Glad. "Very often it is a holiness, found in our next-door neighbors...in our midst."
Canary and Ducks Stirred Home Depot Shoppers to Talk about God and Jesus
" Was God giving me a challenge of some sort
and using my dead canary Rosario to help me
better understand the helplessness of some people? "
.
Shirley, an employee in the garden section of Home Depot , one of the more than 2,000 home improvement stores in America, nervously glanced up at the tall pile compost bags where a mother duck and three ducklings had nested after being hatched 28 days ago. a few weeks ago. She thanked God for prompting her to be the guardian of this duck family . And she also that morning again gave a thank-you smile to her boss for pretending he knew nothing about these ducks.
Eying a young boy who gleefully pointed out the nest to his mother made Shirley reminisce about Rosario , her pet canary now buried in her backyard in Mt. Prospect, Illinois...
****
It was an August morning in 2014 when Shirley first met Rosario as she was taking he usual one-mile walk, past lawns and a few prairies, to Mass at the St. James church . "It was my happy walk, rain, shine or snow," she told me in an interview years later . " I sometimes feel a connection to God I am close to nature. Near my home I noticed I noticed a bird resting in a grassy patch, making a peeping sound like a baby bird. It looked like a green Parakeet, but on closer inspection I saw it was a bird I did not recognize. As I got closer , I said to myself I hope he flies away. I just didn’t want to take in another stray animal . I love to nourish them. (As a young girl , Shirley would take into her home puppies and stray cats . )
The bird suddenly flew off , and Shirley, then aged 62, took chase . She followed it, t to a nearby café where it flew against a window. "The bird was dazed and appeared to be domesticated ," Shirley continued. " I had a sweater with me and threw it over him. Several customers walked out of the café, ignoring the entire scene ."
Shirley walked home with the bird and named it Rosario in reference to the Rosary she prays daily. Husband and son welcomed the new addition to the family . " My family is good hearted towards animals, " she told me.
Rosario soon recovered from his window pane accident and "began to fly around our home , enjoying our hospitality," Shirley said . " That first night we offered him some wild bird seeds we had on hand and which he gladly ate. We bought a cage , and he fell asleep in it as if he had never left home. "
Searching for Rosario's True Owner
The question confronting the Mitan family the next day was whether Rosario might be was just a wild bird or someone's lost pet . "We had this little guest and wanted to find if he belonged to anyone, " Shirley said. She then discovered a leg band with the name of a pet store on it. Shirley contacted the bird store and was told by its owner that sale of Rosario had been recorded but not the buyer's name. He told Shirley that Rosario was a Spanish Timbrado canary which he had sold for $150. ( According to Global Biodiversity Information facility , Spanish Timbrado canaries are bred in Spain for song rather than color. The name Timbrado derives from the timbre of the canary's metallic voice, reminiscent of castanets, the traditional instruments used in much of Spain's folk music.)
Wanting to locate Rosario's owner , the Mitan family began distributing "have-you-seen-this bird " flyers in their neighborhood and at a nearby shopping mall ; they also inquired at the village police station—all without success.
Meanwhile, Rosario and the family continued to bond . "Rosario was sociable and began singing, really sounding like Spanish Castanets , " Shirley said .
In one of our conversations
, Shirley quoted Jesus Christ : Not even a sparrow falls to the ground
without God's care. She asked
herself if God was giving her a
challenge of some sort and using Rosario to help her better understand the helplessness of some people?
Rosario Gets Moody
Five years
passed…Rosario was appearing to be a bit temperamental . "He didn't ’t like to be outside , nor the
white of hardboiled eggs on bagels we
fed him, especially the sweet part and
the yogurt , " Shirley said ." Maybe we did pamper him. He was like a
hot-house flower—with emotion."
Despite his moods, Rosario continued to bring joy to Shirley's family . "This little guest made his way into our hearts, " she said. " He looked out the window at other birds and butterflies. I heard him sing even when I was outside working in the garden . Neighbors down the hall heard his singing too . His song was beautiful and strong . "
(Back to the Ducks...)
The garden section manager on this day decided it was time to remove the ducks ; he had done a good job allowing the ducks to remain in their nest while pretending he didn't know the ducks were there . He had also ignored the growing gossip of shoppers asking how the store would "eliminate" the ducks. Shirley further explained the delicate matter of a few shoppers who stared up at the nest and exchanged debates about why and how God had been protecting those ducks for so long. Shirley was in favor of the debates . "You know, " she once told me, " more people in this busy crowed store need to talk about those things. Many of these shoppers here buying flowers and bushes look lonely and downhearted. They need to be assured that God and Jesus loves them as He does this family of helpless ducks ."
Shirley surely prayed now as an employee began stacking 50-pound compost bags to make steps up to the duck nest. Employee Shirley Mitan, looked like a nervous mother . She told me she held her breath watching the duck family's impending exodus from their home.
Having climbed to the top of the stack, the store employee now reached out with an unsure hand and grasped the nest and began prodding the duck family down the laddered stacks. "I was squeezing my hands now, " Shirley told me.
Some of the dozen or so Home Depot shoppers who had now converged around the compost pile began clapping as they watched three ducklings and their mother waddle down a ladder of compost bags . " It was like watching an adventure movie", Shirley said. "Ducks were bringing these shoppers together ! A religious movie maybe?" (Years ago she had boldly hitchhiked her way to southern Mexico to evangelized to people in a few small villages . Today she remains grateful for that experience .)
What motivates Shirley through life ? She explained: "God's providence is always at work , especially on a busy day. Nature and the human condition He ties together by a common denominator , the human heart. "
The End
comments are welcome at
rrschwarz7@wowway.com
© 2018 , 2020, 2022 Robert
R. Schwarz
No comments:
Post a Comment