SPECIAL TOWNS: “My father, Jack Caswell, worked for the water
department for many years. He passed away 10 years ago. I received
via mail a photo of my father with all of his co-workers sent to me
by the Water Authority. This is what caring is. After more than 20
years they sent me this photo, a memory of my dad. It’s priceless
to me.

“I want to say thank you for thinking of Jack’s family. He was
loved by so many. Another reason we love living in a small
town.”

That’s from Brian Caswell. We also received a letter recently
from Jean Weber, singing the praises of Smethport: “Early in the
week, when I was feeding our cockatiel Benji outside on our deck,
he got past my arm and out of his cage. I had just reminded myself
that I had to be careful with Benji because he loves being outside
in his cage, hearing the wild birds chirping and taking in the
fresh air. But no sooner had I made that mental reminder, he was
out!

“And around and around he flew, and then he began soaring into
the sky like a kite. I could see where he was going, and I kept
whistling to him and hoping he would return to my whistle, which he
knows and imitates. But no such luck; he just kept going.”

Jean tells us she was particularly concerned because the weather
was expected to take a turn for the worse.  

“Then, on the third day of his disappearance, I received a phone
call. ‘Did you lose a gray and white cockatiel?’ the man asked. And
when I excitedly said I had, he told me that he had driven into
local Dollar General store, and there, on the parking lot ground, a
cockatiel walked over to him. He picked it up — Benji is an
extremely friendly bird — and went inside the store to inquire if
anyone knew the bird’s owner. A fellow customer, a ‘totally bald
man,’ said Benji’s rescuer, answered that Shirley O. up the road
has birds, and maybe she lost it. The man called us, and within the
hour, Benji was back in his cage eating ravenously.

“For us, the return of our sweet little cockatiel was a sheer
miracle — a miracle brought about by the kindness of good and
caring neighbors. Thank you, Larry Larson, Benji’s rescuer. And
thank you, ‘totally bald man,’ whoever and wherever you are!”