June 14, 2011 I am starting my blog today on the Employment First Georgia Website! My hope is to engage the reader by sharing thought provoking, novel information about employment and/or living “the good life” in a contemporary style focusing on positive ways of thinking about disability; as a time for us to connect person to person trying to make it through the day and hopefully making the world a little better for being a part of it. Everyone of us—disability or not—has the same needs, including being accepted, giving back, others valuing our talents, learning and growing, having meaningful ways to spend our time. These universal needs are typically met through family and friendships, employment, our own home, and being included in our community. We call this our lifestyle, the way we live. “Living the good life,” means our lifestyle is based upon those universal needs being met through how we spend our days.
Along with my job as Director of Employment First Georgia my good life includes living on a farm near Atlanta with my wonderful family and 2 sheep, 2 goats, 6 dogs, 3 cats, and 60 chickens. And I want you to know disability is part of my life. So one Saturday a few weeks ago as I was working in our vegetable garden and listening to an episode of Radiolab on NPR, a story was told that has shifted my thinking and broadened my worldview. It is the story of Jim Eggers and his parrot named Sadie, and how something occurred where there seemed to be no solution, and how sometimes those small things can dramatically change the possibilities of the world we live in and can be a form of hope that reframes the world, making it a little less sad, a little less lonely, and a whole lot better place.
Jim has been labeled as hav
ing “bi-polar disorder with psychotic tendencies”. He describes, “mood swings” and problem controlling his anger, which is quick to rise over what he says, after the fact, was something insignificant. His life has included many hardships: seeing his 7 year old brother drown, being blamed for the death by his parents, being told they wish he had been the one to drown. At the age of 16, his parents told him they wanted him to leave home. His life spiraled out of control and he remained homeless for many years. Things began to get closer to better when he became employed and was able to get an apartment, but he still struggled through cycles of depression and anger. To shift into the story I want to share with you, it is important to know that Jim loves animals, and he had been saving $100 a month out of his paycheck to buy an African Grey Parrot.
A couple at his church that owns a pet store knew of a rescue parrot that was with a teenager who wanted to sell it. When Jim met the parrot, he, the parrot was in horrible physical and emotional shape and obviously very stressed. While Jim had not envisioned this to be the parrot he was saving for, he knew he could not leave her in such horrible conditions and took her home, giving her lots of loving care and good food. Soon they were bonded and a deep friendship ensued. In my telling of their story, we are now a few years from this point, when something wonderful happened. One day Jim was calming himself down with comforting words to deal with a stressful event by saying “Everything will be ok, everything will be fine, just calm down” when he hears Sadie say “Jim calm down, everything will be fine…I love you Jim”…She was repeating what she had heard Jim say during times of stress. Jim began rewarding her with treats for doing this because it effectively broke the cycle. Jim went on line and found a parrot backpack cage, had her registered as service animal, and takes Sadie everywhere with him. Then some time later, a situation occurred that upset him. In a fraction of a moment before he could begin the self-talk to calm himself down, Sadie initiated saying all those phrases, “Jim calm down, everything will be fine, I love you”. She learned his body changes associated with being upset and knows that is when he would say the phrases. As Jim puts it “I rescued her and she has rescued me.”
Some of you may recall the story of the late African Grey Parrott Alex. You can Google him and learn his poignant story. Dr. Irene Pepperberg, the leading authority on African Grey Parrots who by the way can live to be as old as 80-90 years, tells a similar tale of coming into her office after a h
eated faculty meeting obviously angry and Alex tells her “Calm down. I love you.”
Jim is now seen as a better guy, a calmer person, and a changed man. With a little tweaking in his life he added hope where there seemed to be none, and is now living his good life. So as this day is ending and the golden hour has motivated my sweet chicken Violet and her baby daughter Claire to a roosting position on one of the garden gates, I realize it is these moments in my day that keep my demons at bay and my good life at hand. We all need our own Sadie in one form or another.
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Take Care~~~~~~~~~~