I was riding my trusty bike Blue Thunder home from group fitness this morning when I passed a home that often has two parakeets in a cage in the front yard. The story of the bike's name may surface eventually but this is the story of a name for a parakeet and other things.

My Dad worked for a major freight airline in maintenance and put up with some odd hours. He also got to travel overseas on trouble shooting runs. Shudder, think about it! His presence as a father figure in those circumstances was well intentioned but spotty. What do six brothers with a put-upon Mom do in such circumstances? While I tended to be inward, my brothers, especially the alpha one who now calls many of the shots now the folks still live in their house and only have myself and another close by, liked to hang out with "characters" and try to impress them. Sometimes this was done by relating Dan's peccadilloes to these fine kids for, I don't know, treats?

In September of 1964 Dad was going to New Zealand with a new cargo plane whose tail swung open, hopefully not during Neptune Club proceedings or other airborne times. That could all but eliminate clients for the Neptune Society. Mom took us all to see him off. Dad's airline had been moved all over Los Angeles International Airport and at this time was at the end of the main runway, which was exciting, noisy and yielded this kid from a Southern Pacific dominated valley a 97 car Santa Fe freight (I remember these things, relax and enjoy) headed for the harbor. Alpha brother was yielded the sight of a yellow parakeet fluttering about and one of Dad's colleagues saying, hey, if you can catch it.... He did, we got it home in a box, a neighbor gave us a cage and some supplies---always remember the gravel---and now we needed a name.

Well, on such an occasion, Dan came up with---and of all the family I feel strange saying or writing---"Zealy". How obvious, how silly, how typical, said the brothers. And it stuck, as did other things. The bird was around until March of 1970 and there is more to tell. The date in September we caught Z-bird (told you so!)? The 18th.

A day of the year that was the 1984 birthday of a Chihuahua the folks had for a long time. He was purchased for them from a breeder near Redding, California, by---alpha brother. And he was named by the mail man! Mom wanted it to be a name she approved, and she was in prime "What I want" form back then, so everyone kept turning it back to here until, if not a statute of limitations form being K-9 nameless, whatever someone repeated stuck.

And Duffy 'twas.