Copyright 1998 -- Robert Baer Jr. PROLOGUE Ever wonder how life on this planet would be if birds ruled the earth? They DO in BirdWorld! This is the ongoing tale of Robin Mallory, radio star, station manager, wife and mother of 3. How does she deal with it all? Why not as "Chipper" Birdwell, Robin's dad? I'm sure he'd love to tell us! BirdWorld - "Power Lunch" As we search for "Chipper" today, we notice that he's perched outside, pecking on some wild berries. "Oh, hello there!" he says as he finally spots us. "I'm just finishing my lunch, I'd offer you some, but I don't think I have enough of it left to make a decent meal for a human! (Cackle!) Well, perhaps sometime in the future we could all do lunch together! There's nothing like having a meal together to help "get to know one another" better. Take my daughter Robin for instance, the other day all the folks at her office decided to go out to lunch together. There was Robin, Howard Yates, Meadowlark Gremmon, Wild Bill Bluejay, Babs Finchly and the newest member of the staff, Carla Delmar! They all decided to dine at the Lucky Leaf, the place where Robin's husband Joe is the chef! As the six hungry office staffers were shown to a table, Carla seemed to be a bit overwhelmed at the place! She saw the very large dining area and buffet bar on the other side of the room. Robin had to ask her,"Carla, is this the first time you've ever been to the Lucky Leaf?" "Yes, Robin!" Carla said with glee,"this is one awesome restraunt!" "We all eat here at least twice a week," Howard said,"I do like the atmosphere, I bring clients here all the time!" "There's some GREAT food here, Carla!" Meadowlark chirped. "Eating here sure beats hunting grubs!" Wild Bill shouted. This statement brought a lot of stares from birds seated at the surrounding tables! "It's no fun chasing them, stepping on them, pecking them till they quit squirming, that's a lot of hard work! I'm so glad I can come to this restraunt and ...." "Stop that!" Babs said grabbing Wild Bill by the beak,"you're embarrassing all of us! Everyone is looking at you! For once can't you go out in public and act like you have some sense?" "You're SO FUNNY!" Carla laughed. "There's my husband!" Robin shouted,"Honey! We're over here!" Joe approached the table and said,"Hello Darling!" "Carla, meet my husband Joe, Joe this is Carla Delmar!" "I've looked forward to meeting you," Joe said to Carla,"you're an excellent talk show hostess!" "Thank you!" Carla answered back,"you've been listening....." "Yes!" Joe replied,"you handle the call ins very well, like last night...." "I remember!" Howard interrupted,"that one obnoxious man who said 'what's a spunky broad doing on Thrush Limbird's show?' " "And you said,'what's a loud mouthed jerk doing on the other end of this receiver?' " Babs shouted,"that was really a good comeback!" "You took care of that heavy breather too!" Meadowlark squawked,"he asked you,'hey gorgeous, what's ya wearing?' and you said,'the Black Belt I earned in Karate Class!" "You guys really like my show?" Carla said with a note of surprise. "Of course we do!" Wild Bill chirped,"your witty and fast on the draw!" "Will all of you do me a favor?" Joe asked the six,"I've prepared a new entree for the dinner crowd, I'll let all of you have some on the house if you'll give me your honest opinion, OK?" "WOW!" Wild Bill shouted,"Count me in!" "Me too, Joe!" Meadowlark screamed,"this will be a real Super Bowl meal!" "I'm in!" Babs said politely. "You're just going to give me lunch?" Carla said. "Yes, Carla," Joe replied,"I believe you'll love it!" "Wow," Carla said with a tear in her eyes,"this is SO wonderful.... will you all please excuse me...." Carla turned her motorized wheelchair around and went into the ladies room. While the others continued their conversation, Robin sensed that there was something wrong and went into the ladies room also. There she found Carla, with her face toward the wall mirror, weeping uncontrollably! Robin slowly approached her and asked,"Carla, what's wrong?" "It's hard to explain!" Carla muttered through her tears,"you and your friends have been so good to me!" "Good to you?" Robin asked,"you're our friend, and ....." "It's more than that," Carla interrupted,"you're treating me like a person, like an equal, I'm not used to that!" "Carla?" Robin questioned. "Let me explain. Most folks have treated me like an object, someone to either pity or ignore ever since the accident that left me in this chair. All the other places I tried to get an interview with wouldn't even take me seriously, but your Mr. Biszop hired me immediately!" "Carla, all of us were impressed with the innovative way you "came" to the office! That 'scarlet ribbon' idea was nothing short of brilliant!" "I did it because I wasn't sure how it get anyone to notice me, that I'm a person inside of a body that doesn't function properly....." "Carla, you have nothing to prove, you're great behind the mike! Mr Bizsop is an excellent judge of talent, and...." "And everyone at the station has made me feel right at home! Meadowlark brought me coffee this morning, and Edward R Sparrow patiently taught me how to use your computer terminals, without 'talking down' to me! And I love all those handwriiten signs Wild Bill flashes from the booth!" Carla began crying again,"you're making me feel like a person again!" "Carla, you ARE a person! You've never been 'anything' else! Although you've only been here a week, all of us love and care about you!" "WOW!" Carla said through more tears,"I'm so happy!" Robin hugged Carla,"this is a great bunch of birds, Carla! You'll even learn to like Thrush when he returns. Now, let's go have lunch, OK?" "OK!" Carla said drying her eyes on a towel. When Carla and Robin returned to the table, the new entrees were being served. Another cultenary masterpiece! Everyone LOVED it! Carla felt more at ease now that she'd had her 'talk' with Robin. The rest of the meal went without incident until Wild Bill tried the old 'tablecloth trick' on their table, and nearly broke all the plates and glasses doing it! Good thing Joe's boss had a sense of humor! Yes, one can learn a lot about someone by simply spending time with them. That's how I snagged my late wife! God rest her soul. Wild Bill needs to watch me! I can do that old tablecloth trick, watch this!" Chipper grabbed two ends of a tablecloth that was on the picnic table and pulled quickly! The tumbler and plates on the table flew up in the air, and crashed on the floor! "Ok, so I need more practice! Well, maybe I'll have it ready by the time you folks return, I wonder what I did wrong? ............" -----------------------------------------------------------------------