The date was May 5th, 1992, a Tuesday. I was finishing up my seventh grade year of middle school in Ohio, and was riding home with my mom and siblings in our family van, most likely from one of my or my sibling’s many afterschool extracurricular activities. I proceeded to spend the long ride to our house out in the country my preferred way to pass the time—by drawing.
Pulling a sheet of notebook paper from my backpack, I grabbed a pencil and began to sketch out a most unlikely creation: a simple cartoon of a friendly, smiling parrot stretching out his wing, clinging to an umbrella, and exclaiming, “Okay—I’m Ready! Come Rain on My Parade!” I traced my pencil lines with a felt-tip marker and proudly signed and dated it, knowing I had just created something special.
This was the very first incarnation of Herby the Parrot, 21 years ago. Why a parrot? Well, I’m not really sure. I’ve always been fascinated by birds, and our family had a few parakeets as pets over the years, but from the beginning Herby has always had a life of his own. I continued to draw dozens of Herby cartoons over the next several years, even dabbling throughout my college years and beyond. I had always wanted to do something more with my cartoons, but never quite settled on exactly what.
Nearly 20 years later, I decided to finally give Herby the attention he deserves. Over the past year and a half, I’ve worked on developing a book of Herby’s cartoons, especially designed for children (particularly third- to fifth- graders), that entertains, encourages, and educates them with important life lessons and positive character values. If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out my book Herby Gets a Life and grab copies to share with the children and children-at-heart in your life!
At 21 years, Herby is finally coming of age. And he has so much further to go!
Have a good Memorial Day weekend remembering those who died defending our country and all those who have touched our lives and are no longer with us, whether we knew them personally or not. Many have gone before us and sacrificed much so that we can enjoy a better life.
There are many things that we don’t know all the answers to, or that cannot be proven with our five senses, and that must be believed instead. No one can see love for example, but we can believe that love exists and that it is good to love other people. We can believe that it is better to do good things and share love with people rather than doing evil. Herby encourages his friends to believe in the miracle of Christmas even if it is something that happened a long time ago and takes faith to believe.
How can you know that something is true or worth believing even if you can’t prove it with your five senses? What are some things that you can’t see or prove but can still believe are true?
When we believe something is true even when we can’t see or prove it, it is called faith. Faith doesn’t have to be blind or irrational—we can believe something because we have a good reason to believe it is true, such as that you are an amazing person with a good purpose for your life, or that God exists and came to earth as a baby 2,000 years ago to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. Sometimes though it might not even seem to be true or it may be harder to believe because other people don’t believe it. But this doesn’t mean it is untrue and not worth believing. Have faith even if you can’t always see or prove it, because there are some things you have to “just believe.”
Other people can do things that hurt us and cause us to feel angry at them. When other people hurt us, we may feel like hurting them back. Herby pretends he is a knight on a quest to slay a dragon—er, the neighborhood cat—who often pounces on him and causes him much trouble.
When someone hurts you or does something that makes you mad, do you ever feel like treating them badly or staying angry with them? What would happen if you forgave them instead? Have you ever done something wrong and needed other people to forgive you?
Forgiving others doesn’t mean that what they did was right and that you shouldn’t protect yourself from being harmed. But it does mean that you choose not to stay mad at them or hate them, and that you stop punishing or hurting them in return. When we don’t forgive, we only make things worse—mostly for ourselves! Those feelings can control us and keep us from enjoying life. Forgive other people who hurt you, just like you need other people to forgive you when you do wrong things, and you won’t look at them as “foul beasts” to be slayed.
When circumstances aren’t what we’d like them to be, we may feel unhappy, discouraged, and rather like complaining about them. Maybe the weather isn’t to your liking, you want something that you can’t have, or you wish your life was different. Sometimes it may even seem that there are so many bad things that happen, it can be hard to be glad about anything. Herby notices that even though there can often be plenty to complain about, there is still a way to be happy.
Do you ever feel like complaining about how bad things are? What good things can you be thankful for instead? How does it feel when you are grateful for these things?
Be thankful for the good things in your life. Even when it is hard to see anything good, keep looking, because you are sure to find something you can be thankful for. When we appreciate the good things in our lives and thank others for the good things they do for us, it makes us happier and healthier, it enables us to overcome problems, and it helps those around us. The extra effort it takes to be thankful will be “worth it.”
You may find yourself getting discouraged when you try to do something but fail at it. Maybe you’re scared to do something because you’re afraid you might fail, or you’re trying so hard to do it just right that you never actually step out and do it. Jeremy is discouraged because he struck out in his baseball game, but Herby reminds him that it’s okay to fail, and that stepping out and doing it, even if you don’t do it just right, is the only way to get good at it.
Are there times when you fail at something or are afraid that you might not do something just right? How do you feel when this happens? How would you feel if you knew failing was just a chance to get better at it?
It’s okay if you don’t do something perfectly. Just do what you can! With practice, you will get better at it. Don’t be discouraged, even if other people think you are bad or make fun of you for making mistakes. Failure is just part of the journey to success, and “that’s okay.”
Follow Joe!