Then during e-mail exchanges, it happened … my letter home from BoBo. Stewart wrote and asked if he could use Bo in an educational program that they were starting in August in the homeland of the Moluccan (Seram) cockatoos!  I read that letter and I wept, I cried as hard as I did when I lost Bo but this time it was not with pain but release.  It was Bo answering my question as to, “WHY?”.  Stewart's request was actually my baby boy answering me, trying to comfort me, for this is what Stewart's request said to me….

Dear Mom,

I know you miss me and that I left a hole in your heart and soul.  I am sorry that our time together was so short but you always knew I had a goal that I was meant to attain.  While you and I together could have reached a few people in South Carolina, I was meant to do so much more.  The goal I was meant to attain could have never been achieved in life.  Don't you see?  My life of abuse and neglect was hard, so for that my reward is greater.  I am still carrying out our dreams of education but I get to do in my homeland, at the root of the problem.  My life of abuse and neglect would have never happened if the people of my country had understood that we were never meant to be caged.  How do you tame the wind?  How do you touch the fire that is our soul?  You can't … not without destruction. Unfortunately that destruction is of my kind and the rest of the forest’s angels.  I am still teaching mom but I'm teaching on a grander scale than you and I could've ever achieved. I am going home to try to help protect my relatives through education.

Mom, everyone loves a happily ever after story, so my impact would not be so great had I lived.  If a child I was meant to educate raised her hand and asked, "but what ever happened to this bird?"  and my story was of a ‘happy ever after’ the impact would not be as great. Though I suffered great pain and loneliness, the people would only hear the ‘happy ever after’.  Please start healing mom, I am reaching our dreams. August was the month that I lost my fight with life but August is now the beginning of my soul carrying on to help teach and keep my relatives safe.  I will be the spark in the eye of a child that instead of growing up to be a trapper becomes a beacon of hope for my wild relatives.  Only my body is gone mom … my soul will go on forever. You said it yourself … "BoBo the spirit of many and the soul of eternity. "

Love,

BoBo

It took me days to answer Stewart.  He had no idea that his ‘simple’ request brought me an acceptable answer to my question of “WHY?”, saving my sanity.  He had no idea that Bo had sent a letter home through him that was a salve upon my battered soul. I made a special request of Stewart shortly thereafter.  I asked that he bring Bo’s ashes home, home to the land he should've been born unto, the home that he should've flown above and been king of all he surveyed.

So, my friends, in the month of August, the month we all lost our beloved BoBo not only will he be a part of an ongoing educational program but his ashes are going home.  His spirit will soar with that of his ancestors. As his ashes are released from a platform high up in the canopy, they will gently come to rest upon the land he was never meant to leave. From those ashes I hope a tree of life, a tree of fruit will be born to not only to feed his cousins that have escaped the grasp of mankind but to feed many generations to come.

On the day of the release of BoBo's ashes if it rains it will be the tears of my love washing away all the pain that Bo had endured in his ten short years.  If there is a gentle breeze, it will be my hand reaching out one last time to gently caress his crest and my hand lifting him one last time to soar from heights he would have never reached with me or in captivity.  If the sun shines that day … I know it will be the flame that always burned in his eyes and that he carried in his crest. A flame that no man was able to extinguish no matter what Bo went through in his life. This August there will be a new star in the skies and that will be our BoBo not only watching over all those that had loved him but also watching over his wild flock of Seram.

 Stewart, thank you for giving me back a peace of mind I had not known in a very long time.  I wish you and everyone involved in The Indonesian Parrot Project continued success.  The cockatoos and parrots need you!  Thank you, not only for bringing Bo home but also for helping keep him alive in the hearts of the people of his homeland.  While all of the people of The Indonesian Parrot Project are special, you will always be my hero for what you have done for us. The work of The Indonesian Parrot Project is absolutely vital for the safety and rehabilitation of the Indonesian birds.

Thank you my darling Bo, while my heart will always ache for you your letter home has brought me a comfort I have not known since I lost you.  I would not trade a second of the pain I have felt if it meant a lifetime without having known your love.  I never believed in destiny until you came into my life. Freedom and home is finally yours my sweet … be forever free!  You are my heart, my soul and I will love you always.

Arise and fly free my love,

Mom

Those of you who are unaware of Bo's story can read it here

http://bobosplayhouse.com/sunshop/index.php?action=bo_updatepage (abridged version)

 or here

http://secondchancebirds.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=302   (full length story but must be a member)

A tribute to the life of our special friend