Excerpt: Prologue to Show Me the Pretty Bird

Cockatiels are the love of my life. When I feel down they give me joy. Their antics also keep me grounded, something every creative person needs. This winter I decided to take my experiences over the last few years and put them into a comedy play. It’s a glimpse into my world as a bird person and is completely autobiographical. I hope you will enjoy it and if you want to produce this play as a show at your school or community theater, by all means email at the address provided in the front matter of the play.

Prologue

LAUREL stands downstage on the apron and addresses the audience.

LAUREL

(Singing to the tune of “the Brady Bunch” theme)

HERE’S A STORY OF A LOVELY LADY. WHO WAS BRINGING UP TWO VERY LOVELY BIRDS. BOTH OF THEM WITH SNOWY CRESTS, LIKE THEIR MOTHERS. THE YOUNGEST ONE WITH PEARLS.

(Switching to normal voice)

If you are like most people, you have never heard lyrics quite like that applied to that song!  In fact, if you are like most people, you have no clue what the _____ I just said. How do birds have pearls?

Now of course if you are a cockatiel person, you are thinking, ‘yeah, of course one has pearls – but most pearl cockatiels don’t have white crests. Is this cockatiel a whiteface pearl?’ 

If you are really a cockatiel person you immediately want to know the exact genetic history of my bird – Arwen in this case.  To which I am happy to tell you that Arwen is a dominate silver whiteface pearl pied hen and granddaughter of a National Cockatiel Society champion named Caspian. Her mother, Caspian’s daughter, was Cloud, a whiteface pearl pied hen. Arwen’s father was named Sterling and he was a dominate silver whiteface pearl pied.

Are the rest of you completely lost yet? Yeah, I thought so!  That’s because you are used to dog and cat breeds where people value uniform traits. When I say ‘Cavalier King Charles Spaniel’ you know exactly what that dog looks like. Mix another breed with that beautiful cav and you end up with a cute, lovable mutt who will never win the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

But parrots are literally of a different class – Aves – and order – Psittaciformes – from we mammals. All captive raised parrots are wild animals socialized around humans, but still retaining their wild instincts. Selective breeding has created what we call ‘colour mutations’ that only change the plumage of our captive raised birds, usually by suppressing a specific hue like yellow – for pied cockatiels – or grey – for lutino cockatiels. 

With cockatiels, the more of these mutations a bird has, the better – in most cases.  Therefore, a whiteface lutino cockatiel – which is what my older bird Mithril is – is more prized than a regular lutino cockatiel. Combining whiteface and lutino gives you a very different looking bird.  In this case, a whiteface lutino which has all white feathers, pink eyes, pink beak, pink skin, and pink nails.

Are you ready for the science lecture to be over yet?  Okay! Good! I swear the point of getting together today is not actually to trick you into a zoology class!  Rather we are gathered today to celebrate the wonders that come with living with cockatiels – and the crazy things I encounter in my regular life when I’m around people who aren’t as in love with these amazing and incredibly bright balls of feathered mischief.

On a technical note I want to mention that what you are about to watch is not always presented in chronological order.  All of my cockatiels across the years have something to say – or do – that conveys the magic that is life with cockatiels.

Part tornado, part fluffy ball of feathers, and mixed with insane capacities for mischief, life is never dull around cockatiels.  By the end of this show, you will know exactly what I mean.

(END OF SCENE)

Available in digital and paperback at a library (including Hoopla) and retailer near you including Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, Everand, and Kobo.

Life With Cockatiels: Book Descriptions and Links

Cockatiels make life better. Ever since 1996 when my budgerigar Frodo was murdered by my then boyfriend, I’ve lived with and loved the cockatiels with whom I’ve shared my home and my life. The Life with Cockatiels series is grounded in real, first-hand experiences, the sort of things that don’t make it into traditional guide books. Over 40 years raising parrots (budgerigars, then cockatiels) go into these books. Successes and failures on my part both taught me what works and what doesn’t. To these lessons I add research into specific topics – like traveling by air with birds or foods that help address age-related health issues. Veterinarians know the physiology. They know about diseases and how to address injuries (like the time Frodo broke one of his wings). But the day to day stuff that is life with cockatiels? That comes from living with birds and letting them into your heart.

Amazon, Smashwords, and Audible each list the Life with Cockatiels on a special series page.

The Life with Cockatiels series is:

Preparing for My First Cockatiel

Preparing for My First Cockatiel is a guide book for you and your children to help you know what it takes to get ready for bringing home your very first cockatiel.

Unlike most books about cockatiels out there, this one doesn’t try to cover everything, but stays focused on what you need to be ready for your new life with your bird.

Full of personal stories and photos, you will get to know what life with cockatiels is like from my many years living with and loving them. A fun book for anyone who loves animals!

Topics covered include:

• Cockatiels as cockatoos
• Primary cages
• Travel/hospital cages (including cages for domestic & international air travel)
• Play spaces
• Food
• Toys
• Perches
• Food dishes
• Communicating with a new or shy cockatiel
• Preventing psittacosis (the main disease that transmits between humans and birds)
• Games to play with your new bird

Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you. Also available in audio edition at Apple and Audible.

Preparing for My Senior Cockatiel

Cockatiels are amazing birds! With an average lifespan of twenty to over thirty years, cockatiels are a life investment offering some of the most rewarding relationships you will ever know. In this guide book and sequel to “Preparing For My First Cockatiel,” author Laurel A. Rockefeller explores how to enhance your birds’ lives so they live well beyond the “senior bird” threshold of ten years old. Diet is covered extensively along with how to improve your birds’ home environment for the challenges older birds face. As with “Preparing for My First Cockatiel,” “Senior Cockatiel” is filled with personal stories and science, exploring what a cockatiel is and how to live a long and very happy life with your best friend. Includes detailed nutritional data on popular bird food brands, including ZuPreem, RoudyBush, and LaFeber’s Nutri-berries.

Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you. Also available in audio edition at Apple and Audible.

Mithril and Me, A Love Story

Mithril and Me is the true story of the special bond that forms between human and bird. Beginning with her first bird, a budgerigar (parakeet) named Luke and across the decades since, Laurel A. Rockefeller takes you on a special journey as only she can, learning and growing as a person along the way and loving each bird that comes into her life. Heartfelt, affectionate, and honest, “Mithril and Me” will warm your heart, make you cry, and inspire you along the way. Filled with personal photos from forty years of life with birds. Perfect for the animal lover in your life.

Available in digital, paperback, hardcover, and audio.

Available at Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, and at a retailer near you. Also available in audio edition at Apple and Audible.

Show Me the Pretty Bird

Cockatiels are amazing birds. Beautiful, social, and never predictable, they make life fun for those blessed with their presence. In this two act comedy play, Laurel A. Rockefeller shows moments in her life with her birds in Act I and with people in Act II to show everyone what life is like as a bird person in a world that isn’t. True to Laurel’s habit for singing, there’s plenty of music and poetry celebrating the beauty and wonder that comes each day when you give your heart to birds.

Perfect for educational and community theater settings, especially those seeking material for a strong female lead.

Available in digital and paperback at a library (including Hoopla) and retailer near you including Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, Everand, and Kobo.

Biya Visits Mukden. Excerpt: The Arban and the Saman

In honor of Chinese New Year (春节) this week’s excerpt is from “The Arban and the Saman. “The Arban and the Saman is a historical romance set in the early years of the Mongol conquests, beginning in the year 1211 CE. It is a war time romance. The “arban” is a low level Mongol officer on a quest to find a woman he knows only in his dreams. When his arbatu is sent to subdue nuzhen (Jurchen) villages in Liaoning Province (north of Yanjing – capital to the Jin Empire and precursor to the modern Beijing) he finds the woman in his dreams: the village saman (shaman priestess). Find The Arban and the Saman for kindle, Apple, Everand, Barnes/Noble, and other favourite retailers near you. Audio edition available on Audible and Apple.

Trivia: that’s me on the cover! The original photo was taken in 2006 when I was singing Chinese music at an event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Chinese on the side is the book title.

Excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Arban and the Saman

Mukden, the gleaming jewel of Liaoning province shined upon the light autumn snow. Though barely more than lingering frost, the snow reminded Biya of the urgency of her mission.  Quietly she passed through the city gates, mindful that the watchmen guarding the gates wore the Mongol deel and not the Jurchen long tunic and trousers. Slowly, steadily worked her way through the city until she came to a small compound surrounding a well-tended garden.

A young woman emerged from the front door with a smile, “Ni hao, wode pengyou!”

“Ni hao, Mei Niang!” smiled Biya as she handed Gufan to her. Dismounting from her horse she embraced her friend warmly. “It has been too long!”

“Far too long! Gufan is bigger than I expected.  Almost a young lady!”

“And fortunately, still very much a child.  No signs of any spiritual talents yet. I tell her the stories of our people of course. But I’ve never seen her fall into a trance or be haunted by strange dreams as so many of religious calling do. Perhaps she will never develop the gift and be able to live an ordinary life.”

“No one has an ordinary life, not anymore,” remarked Mei Niang as she signalled for her and Gufan to come indoors.

“We can still try,” answered Biya as she and Gufan sat down in Mei Niang’s living room as Mei Niang darted into the kitchen to fetch some tea.

Five minutes later Mei Niang returned to the living room with a teapot and cups. Pouring tea into each cup she handed one first to Gufan and then Biya before filling her own, the sweet aroma filling the air, “Ganbei!”

“Ganbei!” echoed Biya as she took a sip before helping Gufan drink from her cup. “Do you like the tea, Gufan?”

“Yes, thank you,” nodded Gufan politely before taking another sip, “it is very good!”

“I have many more kinds of tea, Gufan.  Would you like to stay here a while and try all of them?” asked Mei Niang.

“That’s not why I’m staying.  I’m staying because aja needs to go find ama!”

“You are very smart, Gufan.  Yes, your mother needs to find your father. But that doesn’t mean you and I cannot take advantage of that to become good friends and learn new things!” suggested Mei Niang.

“Like what?” asked Gufan.

“Well to start how about I teach you to speak my language? You heard your aja speak to me in my language, but did you understand any of it?”

“No.”

“Would you like to?”

“I don’t know,” answered Gufan honestly.

“That’s okay.  We will figure that out.  For now, how about we get all cleaned up and warm, maybe have more tea and have some snacks before dinner?”

“Okay!” agreed Gufan.

“Okay!” agreed Mei Niang.

The next morning Biya set out quietly out through Mukden’s western gate. With little more than a general direction to guide her, she hoped for more clarity from the spirits as she travelled yet knew this might not come at all. Doubt set in.  Was she truly worthy of the title “saman” or was she a fraud? She’d taken the tests, studied as best she could, but was that enough? Was her soul really connected to the divine as it needed to be in order to heal her people?  And if it were not, was it not time to give up all pretences and take up a different profession instead?

Biya felt confident she knew her herb lore. She knew how to set broken bones and how to safely remove arrows with minimal damage to the patient. She knew how to stop bleeding from both wounds of war and from surgery and how to keep wounds from becoming infected. And she understood how to properly use opium to dull pain –unless it was her own.

But was this enough to call herself “saman?”

In any other religious tradition, it would be enough. But not hers. In her faith healing was more than drugs and bandages. It involved fighting the spiritual components of disease, driving away whatever was unhealthy in the patient so that all the person’s energies were restored to health and vigour.

But could she?  Did she really have what it took to heal another?

As if in answer a snow storm swirled up around her. Biya reined her mare to a stop and dismounted.  Spotting a sheltered grove, she loosely tied the reins to a low branch and made a modest camp for waiting out the storm, making sure to unfold her saddle blanket and spread it across her horse to protect her as best she could. Hunkering down in her modest shelter, Biya allowed herself to drift off into a dreaming trance.

Oh Holy Yuletide Night – Lyrics

Sometime after I moved to New Jersey I was listening to “Oh Holy Night” somewhere – I don’t remember where.  The following lyrics bubbled through me, a Celtic-pagan version of the song known in English as “O Holy Night.” “Cantique de Noël” was the name of the original 1843 poem in French by Placide Cappeau that John Sullivan Dwight translated into “O Holy Night” in 1855. 

I call my version “O Holy Yuletide Night” and sang it in December 2002 or 2003 at First Unitarian Church of Essex County for the congregation – and yes, I hit the high “C” at the end!

Oh Holy Yuletide Night

Lyrics by Laurel A. Rockefeller

Music by Adolphe Adam (1847) and arranged by John Sullivan Dwight (1855)

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining.

It is the night of the sun’s own rebirth.

Long is the night of Yuletide to the dawning

‘Til he’s reborn and the earth feels His light!

A thrill of hope!

The Lady’s pow’r is growing

Her pow’r is great!

The winter comes at last!

Gaze at the moon!

Oh glory in Her brightness!

Oh night divine!

Oh night of sun’s rebirth!

Oh night divine!

Oh night, oh Yuletide night!

An Honourable Match. Excerpt from “Empress Wu Zetian”

Empress Wu Zetian brings the Legendary Women of World History back to my university specialization of Chinese/East Asian history. Before self-publishing for the first time in 2012, I wrote several research articles about Empress Wu for “The Mudpuppy,” the newsletter to the northern New Jersey chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Take a look at those articles.

Perhaps because she lived in the 6th-7th centuries, Empress Wu is one of the most influential women in history. Her reforms to Chinese government endured well into the 20th century, creating a culture focused on education as the means to rise out of poverty that still persists today. Find Empress Wu in digital and paperback at your favourite retailer, including Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and Barnes/Noble. Empress Wu is available in audio format in English (Apple, Audible), German (Apple, Audible), French (Apple, Audible) and Spanish (Apple, Audible).

An Honourable Match: Excerpt from chapter one: Cai Ren

Wu Zhao dipped her brush pen into the murky black inkwell in front of her, an imprint lined practice page in front of her.  Rolling the brush against the lip of the inkwell to refine its point, she counted her strokes carefully as she practiced the character “lǐ” 礼 meaning “propriety,” writing the character repeatedly until it filled up the first line. Looking up at her tutor reading the “Analects of Confucius,” the thirteen-year old chancellor’s daughter raised her voice, “Laoshi, why is propriety important for women?”

“Propriety in speech protects the family’s honour, especially when it comes to women,” answered her twenty-five-year-old teacher.  “Your father Chancellor Wu Shihuo wants you to fully understand all four virtues of women under the teachings of Confucius before he finds you an honourable match.”

“An honourable match?  Why all this focus on marriage and housekeeping skills?  I would much rather read than spin, weave, or sew!” declared Zhao assertively.

Her tutor stood up harshly, closing his book with a thump, “Your father indulges you far more than is proper!  You think even the daughters of the emperor are given such an education?  Education is for men, not women!”

Zhao eyed him coolly, “And yet you accepted my father’s commission to teach me.  Interesting is it not?”

“Wealthy men like your father can afford eccentricities like this.  He pays me well.”

“Ah!  But will he still pay you upon learning you are too prejudiced to do your duty?” countered Zhao shrewdly.

Wu Zhao’s tutor shifted the subject slightly, “Duty? It is your duty to write “li” until I tell you to stop.  How many times have you written it just now?”

Zhao counted, “yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qiu, ba, jiu.  Nine!”

“Keep writing until you have written it thirty times,” commanded the tutor.

Zhao acquiesced as she dipped her pen back into the ink, “Shi, laoshi!”

“You asked to see me, Baba?” asked Wu Zhao as she knelt to sit at the feet of her father by the fire, her eyes downcast respectfully.

Chancellor Wu Shihuo pushed up the long voluminous sleeves of his coat before laying his hands-on top of her head, “Yes, baobei.”

Zhao met his eyes, “What is it, Father?”

“I have both good news and bad news for you at the same time.  Come spring, you will be leaving here for Chang An.”

“The imperial capital city?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You know why I think.  Of all my sons and daughters, you are the brightest, the most learned.  Your sisters are more than happy to sit with a needle; you are ever restless if any dares put needle, spindle, or loom anywhere near you!” smiled Chancellor Wu.

“You’ve made a match for me, haven’t you?” frowned Wu Zhao.

“I have.”

Zhao sighed, using her mental discipline to conceal her irritation and disappointment, “Who?”

“Emperor Taizong.  You are to be one of his cai ren, a low-ranking concubine.  Forgive me, it was the best I could do.  When my peers learned of your … peculiar habits, I am afraid none of them wanted you for their sons.”

“Any man who cannot handle a woman of intelligence and education is not worth my time – let alone my body!” declared Wu Zhao proudly.

“My daughter, do you know how disrespectful that sounds?”

“Disrespectful to whom?  A long dead politician whose only interest was power?  Why do we care about these books, these Analects anyway?  It’s pure propaganda!  Sexist propaganda no less!  We call the peoples north of the Great Wall savages, but how can this be so?  They have women leading them – secular and religious women – and pray to goddesses and gods both!  Maybe we Han are the savages and the northern peoples are the civilized ones!”

“That is treason, Zhao!” corrected the chancellor.

“And impropriety because I am a young woman!”

“Yes,” agreed Wu Shihuo.  “Which is why it is best you serve the emperor as cai ren.  Surely you cannot make any trouble among the multitudes of women belonging to him.”

Zhao smirked, “Don’t bet on it!”

Chancellor Wu stood up, offering his hand to his daughter to help her rise as well, “Well at least as cai ren you are unlikely to ever see the emperor or come to his bed.  That should limit your mischief.”

Zhao shook her head as her father strode out of the room, muttering quietly, “We shall see!”

Repost: Awesome Gang Interview of Laurel A. Rockefeller

Here is the Awesome Gang’s interview of author Laurel A. Rockefeller

author Laurel A. Rockefeller in 2012

http://awesomegang.com/laurel-a-rockefeller/