Thunder Birds on My Roof

Art by Calvin Hunt

I stepped out of my truck on a rainy spring night and turned to look at the roof of my landlord's house and I could see/feel these huge birds sitting on the roof. I couldn't see them physically in this reality but I can feel see them from the non-ordinary reality the dream time. I thought to myself, "What the heck, I might as well wave at them to acknowledge their presence, I'm mean after all, it was only polite." So I waved and I thought they nodded back as if to say, "We see you too Duende." Then I giggled to myself thinking that I had one vivid imagination and went down into my basement suite to watch a bit of late night T.V.

As the months past by I would wave every time I arrived late home at them in the evening and they would nod back. It was comforting although I thought I was completely off my nut I still continued to do it. It was fun. I counted four of them in total.

While I was watching late night television (as I have a habit of doing) I would go up on the roof in my imagination (so I thought) and hang out with them because hey I was a thunderbird too. It was so cool to chat with friends. And we'd sit there and just share company as good friends so often do.

Now at that time I was clowning as "Big Wings" basically I was this Bird Clown in a tuxedo that had wings that I had sewn on that would extend to create an 8ft wing span. And I had a bright blue face and a realistic eagle’s beak that some one in the movie industry had made for me that I would glue onto my face. I would put this on and go storytelling to kids throughout the city. One day on a Saturday afternoon I stepped out of the basement suite in full make up (headed for a show) to see my land lady on the back lawn with there 4 year old son Daniel. He looked right up at me with huge awe and fascination. I said hello as the character and headed to off to do my show downtown.

It was now late August and it was 2 am in the morning I had my window open because of the heat and I could hear Daniel crying upstairs. This must have been the 8th of 9th time I had heard him crying throughout the summer and I became concerned so the next time I saw my land lady I asked her, "Is Daniel okay I heard him crying the last couple of nights?"

“Oh yes,” she said. “He’s fine he just wakes up in the middle of the night cause he’s had a bad dream.”

“What sort of dream?” I asked.

“Oh,” she said, “You won’t believe it if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“He thinks that they are these huge birds on the roof.” And then she laughed nervously. “And hears the kicker, he keeps saying: “Bird Clown on roof mummy, he thinks your one of them. Isn’t that crazy. Kids. Go figure.”

“Yah kids they’re incredible all right.”

Sometimes I think this stuff is all in my head and because of that I never even thought to consider little Daniel. The birds and I decided to meet on another roof and let Daniel have good night sleeps.(c)