Dickie

Dickie

by Roberta Lacey

Who would imagine so much excitement could be raised on our quiet street in Bayside, New York?

It was the day before Easter in 1934. Mother had been cleaning Dickie Bird’s cage and since the doors and window were all closed, she thought Dickie would be safe. He couldn’t get very far, even if he did slip through the tiny space Mom needed in order to replace fresh water and seed, plus clean paper to line the floor of the cage. Well, that was just the time I ran into the house, leaving the rear door ajar, being unaware of what was going on in the sunny front porch where Dickie resided. A flash of something yellow went by my head as I heard my mother’s voice call out to close the door tightly!! Oh, oh, too late, I thought. Only then did I become alarmed. My mother loved that little canary. He sang clearly and frequently most of the day. His early morning chirps became sweet whistles as the cloth covering of the cage was removed.

My sister and I ran out to see if we could retrieve him. As word got around, the neighborhood kids got into the hunt. Actually, we must have frightened Dickie when he saw us jumping to reach him as he sat on a slender tree branch. The higher we reached, the higher the bird flew. Being a canary, he didn’t fly very high, but was quick in avoiding our flailing arms as he elevated from bushes to small trees. The news reached the next street and those kids came to “catch” the bird. Sonny Kapsinsky was the only one of us who kept a cool head. He told us all to stay still and be quiet. He positioned himself next to the tree and could see the frantic bird hiding among the leaves as best he could. We finally remained silent and stood like statues. Sonny very slowly moved his arms inch by inch, higher and higher. He cupped both hands around the bird as Dickie was attempting to reach another branch. He proudly presented Dickie to my Mom, who was so very grateful and thanked him profusely. The “pall” was lifted from our home and little neighborhood when word got out that Mrs. Simms’ canary was safely returned. Sonny was the hero of the day.

The next day as we got ready to go to church, we were happy to hear Dickie bird singing his song and I’m sure he was glad to be back in his safe abode away from the noisy, frantic world outside. It was Easter and all was well.