On 23rd of April 2008 AD, Mr Yong Junior woke up at 5 am! As early as Mr Yong Senior! He has no what special intentions in waking up that early, just that tummy is making noise. However he had to wait for Kakak to wake up and cook something really delicious. So while waiting he read a book titled Miracles by C.S. Lewis, his favourite author of The Chronicles of Narnia. The starting chapters were highly philosophical and even Doctor of Philosophy Calvin Yong (cheh! *face red*) had a hard time grasping it. Anyway, it was arguing about Nature and Supernature.
Far away in the mystically fragrant kitchen, the hot wok of oil blasted the bananas under agility of Kakak's hands. Oh my, the banana fritters are so delicious! It was sweet, not too oily and the hot banana insides melt in your mouth like hot snow...it is really something like manna!
But manna did not last long when the other two hungry barbarians or Ghost Heads woke up. The early morning greeting was "EVIL! When you start waking up so early one har?". It is always a busy thing in the morning at the Yong's residence. 6.15 am Mr Yong the Loudspeaker will start shouting "WAKE UP, Soh Chai Soh Mui! Then the ossifying Mrs Yong will start worrying this and worrying that, telling again Kakak everything she told the day before. And at 6.45 am, off they fly to their place of work. Meanwhile the other two Ghost Heads laze around and push around as to who will brush teeth first. Okay, at 7.10 am, the almost going-to-kaput bus-van comes and picks those two up. So off goes the son of Jephunneh (for his name is Caleb) and the purple cloth dealer of Thyatira (for her name is Lydia)...
Woohoo! The Nemeses were gone and this kickstarted a great day for Big Ghost Head, yours truly. The morning air was refreshing and you can feel the magical young air in Indera Mahkota. A pair of lovesick magpie robins kept on singing their melodious love song in the backyard. The other equally melodious birds were all busy chit-chatting and singing and the busybody Big Ghost Head go and kacau a bird thought to be on the red palm tree. Shake and shake and no bird fly also. Go check your cochlea-lah Calvin!
And then a few minutes later, back in the house then, reading the ever boring newspaper, a most interesting shout came from behind: "Calvin! Ada burung kat belakang rumah! Besar bangat!" Another interesting discovery by Kakak. Kakak has an amazing sense in detecting birds. She discovered the bird on my earlier post, The Bird Which Made Me Emo. I immediately rush to the backyard and thought I am going to stumble upon a nightjar as one did flew into the garden years ago, but who knows that BESAR bangat punye burung is just a small bird. However, it was super CUTE and you can really cuddle it on your palm! I did not know what bird it was. It was super cute, that’s it!
And without any hesitation, I rushed and came back with my Senior-hand-down Nikon Coolpix4300. Snapped hundreds of shots of it and I think the bird was a little surprised at what this guy was doing at. It shoo-ed me with its small, almost developed wings. I managed to get a few great shots of it which will envy Senior.
Think Senior will be pretty jealous of this close up shot! Hehe...
Oopsie, cannot face buttock to me you know, little bird! Joanne was correct when she says I snapped anything with my camera...
Does the head remind you of rambutans? Mind my lame jokes...
Then in my ecstasy photographing this wonderfully innocent bird, a guilty conscience dawned on me. Did it fell from the red palm which I busybody go and shook it? Was it the sibling of the other bird which made me emo? Was it one of the last birdlings of the pair of magpie robins I seen earlier? Have I actually wrecked their loving family? God, forgive me…
Then God made me thought of this Sunday School song.
THE BUTTERFLY SONG
Words and Music by Brian Howard [Click here to listen to the MIDI file]
If I were a butterfly, I’d thank You Lord for giving me wings
If I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank You Lord that I could sing
If I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee
But I just thank You Father for making me, me.
For You gave me a heart and You gave me a smile
You gave me Jesus and You made me Your child
And I just thank You Father for making me, me.
If I were an elephant, I’d thank You Lord by raising my trunk
If I were a kangaroo, You know I’d hop right up to You
If I were an octopus, I’d thank You Lord for my fine looks
But I just thank You Father for making me, me.
For You gave me a heart and You gave me a smile
You gave me Jesus and You made me Your child
And I just thank You Father for making me, me.
If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank You Lord that I could squirm
If I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear, I’d thank You Lord for my fuzzy, wuzzy hair
If I were a crocodile, I’d thank You Lord for my great smile
But I just thank You Father for making me, me.
For You gave me a heart and You gave me a smile
You gave me Jesus and You made me Your child
And I just thank You Father for making me, me.
Then a peace came by. I thought again about the line “If I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank You Lord that I could sing”. Hmm, is it going to be a robin in a tree singing? I do not know. It doesn’t seem hurt, it just need to return to its nest that’s it. God, can You return it to its nest? I am not TALL enough You know. Then God was like shouting to me:
“You always brag of being tall and now you say you are not TALL enough?”
“I do like to get taller…” *innocent face with evil grin*
“Hey, there’s something called a LADDER!”
“God, You want me to climb a ladder? I am scared of heights!”
“So you want to let the bird die? 2 birds died at your home and now you want him to be dead too?”
I am too hesitant. And the song throws at me a brick which hit my head hard, real HARD!
“And I just thank You Father for making me, me.”
“Now, do you realize that, Calvin Tallie?”
I nodded.
“Never mind, my child. Daddy on Earth can still put it back for you. Or you can try climbing the ladder yourself! You are a big boy now! You have ladders to climb next time. I do not mean you go and step on others on the ladder of success, but the ladder in your future home when the lights bulbs gets burned out ;-)”
Haha, very inspiring words. God does speak through nature. In that C.S. Lewis book I read this morning, Miracles, he argues on the Naturalist and Supernaturalist. Interesting discussion. He somehow mentioned something that supports the Supernaturalist. Reasoning of the mind is something evolution can’t come up with. And I think this intricately designed creature with its colourful plumage is something too good for evolution too. Anyway, it’s another matter you agree or not. God did not say he did not use evolution to create living things. He just said He created them.
However, the everyday miracle that happens every morning is something never to be missed! That’s why people, try waking up early in the morning and don’t sleep till noon!
And God, I just want to say out loud in my heart:
For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile
You gave me Jesus and you made me your child
And I just thank you Father for making me, me!
Okay, I cannot control the feelings of injustice I have for the poor bird! As my sister, I almost burst to tears when seeing the cat pounced on the helpless bird. It took me much hesitation in adding to this post, fearing that I will offend any of the cat lovers who reads my blog. However, if you care about the bird and really care about your pet cat, read this…
It has taken away the life of a innocent bird in Indera Mahkota, but this isn’t just happening here. Thousands of species of birds and squirrels and rodents are threatened throughout the world by your favourite feline pet. In Australia, many endemic species went to extinction or driven to the verge of extinction by cats, and I mean the normal household cats which turned into stray cats. No wonder, there are nature conservationist who champions for “A good cat is a flat cat”. I know that I am guilty myself in allowing this bird to be eaten, but I myself am not sure whether my gentle shaking of the red palm tree really made the bird fell. And what if Kakak did not see it and I did not carry it home? The stray cat will still be able to detect it and EAT it. Maybe even earlier…
You people know I dislike cats, however I am not against having cats as pets. What I am against is stray cats, thrown away by their irresponsible owners, who thinks having a ball of fur is fun and when the fun is gone they throw it away. These stray cats are really pitiful. They have to live in harsh environments, enduring the hot sun and the cold rain. Nasty ticks and itchy fleas get on to their bodies. They have nothing to eat but thrown away fish bones or thrown away food remains. They had to hunt for themselves, hunt for other animals like this wonderful bird. And they start to nest above the ceilings of my house and favourably above my room! Not just the very “hiao” mating noise, but then comes the meow-ings of the litter of kittens. Sometimes amidst the disturbing meows of a kitten fallen from the roof, there is a sense of pity in my heart. Again, those irresponsible cat owners! For the sake of fun and so called extra benefit of reducing mice at home (whose modern house has mice nowadays?), they take cats as pets without taking in the consideration of whether they have the patience and pecuniary to take care of their favourite felines.
And a story of warning for all cat lovers who bring their cats to bed…
This is a true story of my cousin sister who carries her cat to the bed to sleep. Never did they realise that it was carrying a deadly virus that is harmless to adults but dangerous to foetuses. With the cat on the bed, they do their stuff and had a charming baby girl. No matter how charming this little girl is, she can’t sit up straight and has fluids in her lungs. She underwent many operations and till today at quite a kindergarten age, she can’t talk, can’t walk, knowing only how to cry of the pain she suffers from. Now my cousin sister is regretful of actually taking cats for granted. You people out there who have cats please don’t follow her footsteps.
So dearest readers and cat lovers, I hope this makes you care more about the environment and as well as your pet cats. In no way I have the intention of offending anyone, but the intention of informing. I am okay with cats. I do enjoy seeing wonderful cats thoroughly cared and groomed and even caressing them. No need to hide your cats from me. Neither am I a doggie lover or hater. As long as you keep your pets nicely, everyone is pleased.
For the sake of the environment, for the sake of your cat and for the sake of the little bird that was just calling
“Mother, I want to be home!”
and gets eaten by a cunning stray cat, please think twice of your cats!
