Thursday, March 01, 2007

Of Chickens and Birthdays

I'm in the mood for a chicken story...

Once upon a time there was a little chicken. Well, actually she was a big Chicken, in more ways than one. So we'll call her Chicken Big (or CB) instead of Chicken Little.

CB had certain dreams when she was still a chick, but when she grew up she found that those dreams had to take the back burner. But she couldn't complain. There wasn't any reason to, not really. Oh no, CB had a good life. There were just these normal, everyday annoyances that every chicken encountered, but which really didn't matter when one looked at the big picture. She had her hen-house, the little chicks and the rooster were all pecking away happily, she had her feathers, none of them had avian flu. She was okay in the hen-house, doing her chicken-scratches on the soil, liking them sometimes, hating them most of the time. But she was often surprised to find that lots of other chickens liked her scratchings.

Then one day, the chicken crossed the road (we're still talking about CB here).

It wasn't so much what she found at the other side of the road that thrilled her (though that was a big part of it: new sights, new sounds, new chickens!). No, it was the experience of crossing the road, of finding her way to her destination all by herself, of trying to communicate with the odd-sounding chickens (who sounded like ducks), of discovering how the chickens across the road did stuff. And the experience remained with her...and she wanted to do it again: cross a different road, see how creatures on the other side of those roads lived--the lions, the flamingoes, the tigers, the baboons, even the frogs (though she shudders slightly at that last one). The dreams that lay dormant in her little chicken brain and in her little chicken heart were awakened, and they consumed her.

The thing is, she realizes that crossing those roads will not be easy for her by any stretch of the imagination. She does not have a chicken trust fund, and she rarely takes part in the chicken lottery (which she has a gazillion-in-one chance of winning, anyway). The only way she sees she can cross those roads is through her chicken-scratchings. She was gratified when she found out that a couple of hen-houses were interested in her scratchings.

Gratified? She was ecstatic! After all, these hen-houses could very well pave the way for her ticket across the road. So what's holding her back from the potential realization of her chicken dreams?

CB is afraid.

Afraid that her scratchings are not up to par. Afraid that her scratchings will be ridiculed by other chickens who have crossed so many roads before her. Simply put, she's afraid that her scratchings are not good enough, and that they never will be. Because other chickens do it so much better, and they have the right to crow about it.

CB is trying to gather her courage, but she finds it so damn hard. She is paralyzed by fear.

Hardly surprising. After all, she's chicken.

*************************************************************

Now, on to a more cheerful thought.

victor
The guy taking forty winks in the pic is a dear friend of mine, and he's celebrating his birthday today (well, in a few more hours in his part of the world). Happy, happy birthday, Victor! He's not only an exemplary boss business partner; he's a good friend, too. I'm thankful for the crossing of our paths because I've learned a lot from him (continuing to learn, actually) and because he always has encouraging words for me--they might be buried underneath a ton of wisecracks, but I'm grateful for them nevertheless. I sure hope he doesn't ever rue the day he decided to ask me to work with him (though I have a sneaking suspicion that the smartass was drunk when he made the offer).

So CHEERS, Victor, my dear and sweet friend! You know that I'm wishing you not only the best of everything, but that you get them in overwhelming amounts. Have a hiccup-free birthday! I'm also wishing you oodles of fun, the fulfillment of all of your dreams, and the patience to reach them. Oh, and lots more moolah, of course, smarty. :-)

30 comments:

Schmoop said...

So what if this chicken lays a few eggs along the way, with enough fortitude to keep taking chances she may end up like the goose and lay a golden one. Cheers Lizza and Happy B-Day Victor.

Foofa said...

I don't think that chicken is alone. I think there are very many chickens like her on every side of every road. I think her scratchings are pretty.

Tammie Jean said...

I think that chicken can do whatever she sets her mind to. She seems like a pretty determined chicken with big dreams.

Thanks for the cute story Lizza! And happy birthday Victor :)

Lizza said...

Matt-man: Annoying how loudly they cluck when they lay eggs. :-D

Natalie: Yep, I think her situation isn't unique. CB thanks you for the compliment.

Tammie Jean: Glad you liked the story! Dreams are fun. :-)

Schmoop said...

Nah, the sound of trying produce something beneficial or even beautiful is never annoying ; )

Anonymous said...

lizz, this reminds me of a true story (you might have heard it in the radio months back).

it was a story about the chicken who survived the leyte landslide after being entrapped for one week.

only, only to be killed and roasted by the first few people who found it bravely walking out of its hell that was the trapped house.

talk about jumping out of the frying pan and straight into the fire! :)

Scott from Oregon said...

I was driving my van years ago past a small supermarket in the country and there were many people milling about out front in a group.

At that moment, a chicken ran in front of me and crossed the road.

I couldn't help myself, I just hadda...

I slowed to a stop, rolled down my windown all the way, and asked the group-- "Hey! Why did the chicken cross the road?"

They actually gave me a small ovation...

y.Wendy.y said...

If CB's scratching are being sought after then CB must run quickly to offer them up...

Go for it Lizza....you will get there one day.

Anonymous said...

Analogy ka pa ha. =)

Sige nga, tawid. =)

Kiyotoe said...

i think i just had this conversation with EDog....but anyway, i like to tell myself that scratchings are subjective. It's not a matter of if our scratchings are good enough, we as confident individuals (some Dragons abundantly so), we know our scratchings are good.

It's just a matter of finding the right people to share them with.

Keep on scratchin' Lovely.

Cappy said...

My dream for the chicken is a final resting place in a bucket of KFC.

Liz Hill said...

Scratch away dear Lizza--it's fascinating. *secretly hoping I am one of the 'fun' animals* Congrats to Victor. Be careful of Matty--he's protein deficient LOL

Michael C said...

Happy B-DAy Victor. By the way, I really like all of the chicken scratches I have seen...

david santos said...

Hello!
This work is very good
Thank you

Lizza said...

Matt-man: You got a point there, my friend. Cheers!

Maggie: No, I didn't hear about that one. Hahaha! Poor bastard.

Scott: Haha! Moments like that are priceless.

Wendz: CB is slowly growing a spine. :-) Thanks, Wendz!

Tinola: Wala pang pantawid e. :-D

Kiyotoe: Ah, yes. Certain dragons are highly self-confident, and rightly so. :-)

Cappy: Yummm... KFC. You just made me hungry. Thanks for dropping in. :-)

Turnbaby: No worries, you are one fun animal, you are! And so is Matt, proteinless or not. haha!

Michael: I like what comes out of your mind, too!

David: Thank you, and thanks for dropping by again.

Sebastiane said...

Happy Birthday to your friend!

(:

Lizza said...

I'm sure he's having a great time, Kyels. Hope you're doing good, too!

BeckEye said...

I never thought I could relate to a chicken, but I do!

Lizza said...

Cock-a-doodle-doo, Beckeye! Oh, wait. That was a rooster. :-D

Phoenix said...

Tell that chicken everyone gets scared. Tell her that she has to believe in herself. Then others will.

Phoenix
x

Lizza said...

True, true, Phoenix. Sage advice, indeed. Thanks for visiting. :-)

Debo Blue said...

What if?

What if CB never tries?

What if CB keeps putting it off allowing fear to cheat her out of dreams?

What if?

Lizza said...

I agree; you'll never know for sure unless you try. :-) Good to see you again, Debo.

H said...

NONONONONONOoooo hold on a minute here.... you have to, HAVE TO explain... I'm bloody intrigued. So what are these scratches that other hen houses are interested in... sounds like there something really really exciting in that.

DOn't be afraid darling... believe this for once... YOU REALLY ARE ALL THAT COOL.

so, now that that's been said, i still want to know what these wonderful sounding scratches mean...

By the way... which am I? I'd like to think either baboon or tiger. I could be a sulking cow too.

H said...

Oh and AGAIN. I mean it... you must must must make use of any and every opportunity that you have[check who's telling who what and how to kick aside the bloody diffidence... I'm going to shoot it when I see it next, I promise you]


Anyhow, so I am very very very excited about these mysterious opportunities that you have before you... please tell all.

Lizza said...

You are a wondrous, magnificent, and sometimes cantankerous female dragon, how could you be anything else?

Shhhh, I don't want to say anything because nothing's final yet. I'm silly, I know. But I can't help it, I'm bloody superstitious that way.

H said...

okeh sis, I get and I completely respect... wishing you tonnes of luck for it anyhow. love & hugs, me.

Lizza said...

Thanks, sis! Love and hugs to you, too. :-)

R said...

The rate at which Chicken Big churns up new posts everyday makes me wonder if CB should be renamed Super Chicken. What’s more, CB even finds the time to read appreciate the scratchings/ droppings of smaller and younger chicken.

Lizza said...

Thank you, Julia Scissor. :-) It's good to read and learn from other scratchings.