If there is one thing I always try to do at best Friends, it’s the jobs nobody else wants to do. One of them is cleaning. I learned that the way to endear yourself to the Staff is to clean. Clean anything. It doesn’t matter. The Staff is up to their eyeballs in volunteers, parrots and work. They are hard-pressed to find time to wash windows, scrub baseboards, wash framed photos, etc. So that’s what I do. Is it crucial? Well, not in the day-to-day operation. But eventually it has to be done. By somebody. Might as well be me. I just ram around cleaning stuff. So that’s what I did today: Windows, the laundry room, anything I could see that needed cleaning. It sure as hell made an impact.

I like doing that. I stay out of the way and simply clean stuff. The staff doesn’t have to work with me, I don’t worry about which parrot is afraid of women, who wants to hump your hand or who is scared of hats. I have three parrots at home. I’m fine with that. Where the Parrot Garden needs help is all the stuff most volunteers don’t want to accomplish. They want to be with the parrots. I understand that. Let them. I’ll just clean. Bonnie Watts and I cleaned the break area:

Bonnie also cleaned a storage room and reorganized it. She did a fabulous job! With the help of Kevin, Jacque’s husband, I also emptied three full trash cans. I then took them over to the hose and washed them out. Doesn’t sounds like a big deal, but it was to the Staff! They love stuff like that:

Kanab is dusty and dry. That red dust gets into everything. So I cleaned it. I did the laundry room:

And after all that cleaning this morning, I was starving. So Kelly Moore Parsley, Bonnie Grafton, Bonnie Watts and I went and got lunch. It was Chili and baked potatoes today, so for five bucks, we loaded up:

Five dollars. All vegetarian and fabulous! It really is the best deal in town because Nick does a great job with the menu.

I’m sorry, but a girl’s got to eat. And we did. Kelly even indulged in the tiramisu. And may I add, she finished it.

 

I also ran into John Garcia who I met the last time I was here. Want to get a gander at John? You can buy the Dogtown Series that was on National Geographic a few years back. Dogtown was a reality show about rehabilitating the Michael Vick dogs. Layla is one of the dogs and John was crucial in the operation of assessing them, transporting 22 of them to BF and rehabbing them for adoption.  I’ll be meeting with John later in the week. But yeah, here’s John and me at lunch. Weird part is, he used to be very cautious about parrots but now loves them! And he told me today he’d rather get bitten by a dog than a parrot. Smart guy! And yeah, he’s as cute in person….

When you volunteer at Best Friends, there’s a few things you have to do: You have to suck down water like a sponge and you have to eat. You’ll sleep like a dog regardless. I guarantee you’ll be tired. I assume I’ll be sleeping as well as Layla, the Parrot Garden “Vicktory Dog” in residence:

I’m back at the house now and no sign of Janet. She went to see the Grand Canyon today, so I think she’ll miss Wendy’s party. Wendy works at the Parrot Garden and I hear she’s a hell of a cook. It’s a party for her son, Vincent who had a birthday today. Bonnie, Kelly and I are attending. If I can manage to stay awake after the party, I might be able to tell you another story. If not, I’ll catch you in the morning. Thanks for flying by!

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