Copyright 1998 -- Robert Baer Jr.

PROLOGUE

Ever wonder what would happen if the world went "to the birds?"   It HAS
in BirdWorld!   This is the epic tale of Robin Mallory, station manager
and loving mother and wife,  trying to "make it" in this "rough and
tumble" world.  How are things going with her and her family?   We'll ask
"Chipper" Birdwell, Robin's father to tell us!

BirdWorld - "A Trip to the Library"

As we search the tree for "Chipper" we notice that his birdhouse appears
to be deserted.   Looking all around, even spying further up the tree,
there's no sign of our friend.   As we glance in the sky, we see in the
distance a bird flying towards us, as he comes closer, we can see it's
Chipper!    "Hello there!" he shouts and he lands on the perch in front of
his house.   "I didn't know you were coming, if I had, I'd been here!  
Hope I didn't keep you waiting long, just got back from our lodge hall. 
We were having a meeting to decide what worth while projects we could come
up with to help the community.   Volunteer work, I enjoy pitching in for a
good cause!   Take what I did last week, I volunteered to chaperone my
grandkid's school's field trip to the public library!   Some of my friends
said I was crazy, being around all those screaming, whiny, mischievious
children, but I told them that I was a kid once and I was the same way!  
Anyway, the day started when we all flew over together to the library.....

It was very difficult to keep all those school kids in a "tight" flying
formation, and my grandson James was the worst one!  He'd try to fly too
far ahead or off in a different direction, so I finally had to make him
fly directly in front of me so I could keep an eye on him!    Zoe and
Nancy would scold James continually for that, and that only make him want
to do it more!   Of well, Chuck flew close to the teacher, Mr. Appleby, a
swallow who was as good a teacher as I've ever come across.   As we all
landed and walked inside, I was rather surprised at the way the place was
decorated!  Old paintings on the wall, very clean looking chairs and
tables, even a couch for my tired old body to sit for a while!   I haven't
been in this library for a number of years, seems I've missed out on a lot!

Zoe and Nancy walked around the lobby, glazing excitedly at the shelves
full of books!   Then they both spotted something familiar in another
room.   "COMPUTERS!" they shouted as they ran like the wind to sit down in
front of a monitor.   Most of the kids were behaving themselves, many
followed Mr Appleby on a tour of the facility, some stayed behind to
select books to take home.   James was up to his usual "tricks" flying
around the ceiling.   "Come down from there at once, young man!" the
librarian shouted to him. 

  "Hey James, come down here now or I'm coming up there after you and I'll
paddle you where your feathers are the thinnest!" I screamed.   James
grunted and then landed beside me.  

 "Now go find a book to read!" I said,"plenty to choose from."    

"I don't want to read a book!" James answered back,"I'd rather be outside
having fun!"   

"Come now, James," the kindly librarian said,"isn't there something that
interests you?"

"I like to play on the river," James said,"hang out with my pals, do fun
things together!"

"Then I've got the book for you, James!"  the librarian said happily as he
reached for a book on the shelf, "I'll bet you'd like Tom Sawyer by Mark
Twain!  It's all about this young human boy who played by the river with
friends and had a lot of scary adventures, here you are,  try it!"

James stubbornly opened the book and began to read, while he read, I took
a good look at the librarian.  He was a cardinal and looked very familiar
to me, it was then I noticed the plaque on the wall that read "Librarian
of the Year 1997 --   Robert Delmar."

I walked up to him and said," Robert?  Are you by any chance related to
Carla Delmar, the new lady on WBIRD radio?"

"Related?"  Robert said with a chuckle,"I'll say I am, I married to her!"

"WOW, my daughter is the station manager over there, I'm Chipper Birdwell!
  Glad to meet you!"

"Likewise, I'm sure!   So Robin is your daughter?   I do notice the family
resemblance!"

"Thank you, Robert!   And may I say that I really enjoy listening to your
wife's radio show!   She certainly has a way of handling a talk show!"

"Well, she does a lot of talking at home, too!   I'm so glad she is
working behind the mike again, she'd been so depressed since the accident.
  But I wouldn't let her give up on herself, I love her too much to let
that happen!   She kept telling me that she was going to give up and stay
in bed for the rest of her life, but I wouldn't listen to her!   I knew
that sooner or later she'd find a job if she kept on trying.   Some days
she'd come home so upset after yet another rejection, but I'd hug her and
tell her to keep going, you're too smart to let a minor setback bring you
down, I kept telling her.   When she saw your ad in the paper last month,
Carla told me she was going to try a "different" approach, and it worked!"

"I must say, Robert, everyone at the station is bragging about your wife! 
 Even Thrush Limbird called in and told her she was doing a great job!"

"Thrush Limbird?   THE Thrush Limbird who once said all females should
stay home and lay eggs?"

"Yes, THAT Thrush Limbird! "

"WOW!   Do you think she'll be able to stay on there after Thrush returns,
Chipper?"

"I don't know, Robert, but I do know she's made many friends at the
station and her ratings are very good!"

"Well, I must return to my duties, it's been a pleasure meeting you sir!"

"And it's good to finally meet Carla's husband!"

Robert walked back to his office, and I turned around, fully expecting
James to be gone, flying around the rafters again.   To my surprise, he
was STILL reading Tom Sawyer!   He couldn't put it down!

All in all, it was a very productive field trip!   I saw many children
checking out books, videos and even some computer software!   James
checked out Tom Sawyer, as soon as we returned home he started reading it
AGAIN!  Now that's the kind of results that made volunteering worthwhile! 
 I think I'll chaparone these school functions more often!   This was
really fun!   Well, I have to go to Robin's place now, her husband is
fixing Snail Ragu and I can't wait to try it!   So long for now, see you
later!