There are those who tell stories, and those who are talebearers.
There are those who are scribes, and write down the tales.
When talents like these are combined, it's inspirational... or so these two would have you believe.
Mum and Dad once went for a holiday to Tasmania and came back with Captain Chas. (I think Mum found those two weeks without me totally unbearable and just had to have something furry and bearish to cuddle.) So Captain Chas and I get together fairly regularly to swap seafaring yarns and sing a sea shanty or three.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I wear my Riverboat Captain cap so that Chas doesn't mistake me for a scurvy, lily-livered landlubber. We say Ahoy Matey and Avast there and Hoist the Jolly Roger, and we pretend our toy boat is an evil black pirate ship with lots of gold swirls and curls, and many great cannons poking out each side. In our dreams, we two scallywags (or scoundrels... whichever you prefer) – sail the Seven Seas once again. We shout Heave Ho to make our crew put some muscle into hoisting the sails to go to sea, and Avast when we want to stop.
Much later, when we've said Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of Rum a heap of times, and had a slurp or two, we seem to always end up doing a lot of aaarrrrgghh... ing in between loudly singing –
'What shall we do with the drunken sailor... ', and the next verse – 'Put him in the longboat until he gets sober... '
Well-ll-ll, all I can say is... Shiver Me Timbers
But wait! There's a completely 'other' side to me, rarely revealed to the public, so shhh... we'll just keep this between you and me, OK? You see, sometimes, on really sunny days, I concentrate on getting in touch with my feminine side and spend time with the ladies - Gertie Galah and Rosemary.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The first thing you should know about Gertie Galah is that she's really beautiful – all pink and grey and white. And she has this cute little white topknot of feathers on her head, that can stand up tall when she's alarmed or sometimes when she's just being nosy. But when she's comfy and quietly thinking, or smiling, or maybe settling for the night, then her topknot lies down nice and smooth.
Gertie is a really funny gal... she makes me laugh a lot. Some humans say Galahs are the clowns of the bird world. I agree. I've seen Galahs doing some really funny things. I wonder if you've seen them when a light rain falls, after many long, hot and dusty days? Galahs love to crowd onto telegraph lines and have a shower. They spread their wings, and whilst hanging on tightly with their curly claws, they swing around on the lines a few times, and then stop when they're upside down... high above the ground. This way, they catch as many raindrops as they possibly can, and then flap their wings furiously, to get rid of the excess. (After all, you wouldn't want to be waterlogged for flight, would you?)
I have seen Gertie doing this high wire act, too. Around and around and around she would go... where would she stop? I didn't know. I was quite dizzy, just watching her. But she had no fear. Like all the rest of her family and friends, she only wanted to 'come clean'. After that, each and every feather must be lifted and ruffled and run through with that tough curvy beak, until they all lay smooth and flat (and of course, squeaky clean once again). Then, at long last, the Galahs sit in the sun to dry out completely.
Gertie tends to squawk more than talk... well - that's how it sounds at first. But when you be very, beary quiet and listen most carefully, you can hear her words. (This is easy for a Teddy Bear – it's our basic personality.) Humans are different. More often than not, they have problems understanding why they have two ears and only one mouth – "All the better to hear you with, my dear" (as a famous Wolf once said). We Teddy-type bears have no problem with this, OR any other loyalty and caring and loving type things. You may have noticed this about us.
Oh yes... and Rosemary? She's what we sit on in the great outdoors - Gertie and me. Although sometimes she's a girl in other houses - Rosemary is a bush at our place. And although a bush by any other name would smell as sweet, it's a lovely name for a special gal who shares her sweetness with anyone who brushes past, or indeed lingers, as Gertie and I do.
