MACAYO THE MAGNIFICENT

Things were happening in the 80s, a lot of technological changes. Video rental stores were popping up on every corner. The personal computer was the must have home improvement. My wife Carol and I were looking to make some changes too. Leave California and the natural food business to start. Maybe try something radically different, a reinvention of sorts.

We had just gotten a pair of cockatiels and were having a lot of fun training the little cuties. Carol suggested we move to Las Vegas, NV. And start raising and training exotic birds. I'd had a tropical fish hatchery in my backyard when I was a kid and I'd spent some time on my grandmother's Texas cattle ranch. Chickens were the only birds I had any familiarity with but what the heck let's go wild.

That crazy idea would turn out to be a great adventure and one bird above all others would change our lives forever. We moved to Vegas and hunted around for a suitable place where we could raise parrots. Someplace where the chattering wouldn't disturb neighbors. We jumped around a bit as our flock grew but we came to rest and soon had dozens of birds. Some imported, others hand raised. Among the first imports was a very cool looking blue and gold macaw from South America. We called him Macayo. He seemed to be different from the others and quickly learned some simple tricks. After a few weeks it was obvious just how different Macayo was. He advanced well beyond simple tricks and also his plumage was sharper than other macaws.

During this time we had other jobs and had met a prominent local woman, we worked for her on and off. She had two young children the boy around two and the girl a few years older. Eventually we managed a mini storage property in an industrial zone for her. It was perfect for our flock. No neighbors and lots of room.

My wife being the smart one decided if we were to rent all the units we should seek clients other than people looking to store their belongings. So we advertized “music studios for rent”. Turns out a lot of rock bands needed a place to practice where the noise wouldn’t attract the police. This part of the story will become relevant further on.

A lot was going on at this time I was really into photography and taking pictures of our beautiful birds. I'd also acquired an early model of a new gadget. The video camera was just hitting the market and what a wonderful technology to have. The camera was huge and you had to carry the recorder deck separately on your shoulder with a strap. I put it to good use capturing the birds doing tricks and our benefactor’s children. To make the videos more interesting I would shoot little movies with props and costumes. On occasion I would swipe the little boy's Star Wars action figures and make stop action movies for him. This part of the story will also become relevant later.

I was getting so confident with Macayo that I decided to hire us out as a pirate and his trained parrot for children's parties. My wife whipped up a costume while Macayo and I worked out a routine. We were a hit... well OK he was a hit. It was really Macayo The Magnificent and his pirate sidekick. He knocked them dead when he rolled across the floor on his modified corvette stingray.

Jazzed at the possibilities I conceived a bigger stunt. I built a ramp and rigged up all his cars so when he rolled down the ramp his momentum would carry him over the cars like a feathered Evil Knievel. I was of course concerned for his safety. So we practiced the gag several times with me holding on but at some point he would have to drive all on his own.

When the time came the stunt was flawless, just as he launched air born he spread his wings and guided the jump truck to a perfect landing. I was elated. Now you might think this was a simple thing to teach the other birds, but no. While some managed to stay with the vehicle none could guide it to such a smooth landing. Macayo was truly gifted and fearless he made it look easy.

Our sons Pat and Phil were graduating and deciding on what they were going to do in life. Phil wanted to serve in the Marines and Pat was a varsity jock / computer wiz kid who'd taken over his computer class in high school. By now we had scores of birds and needed to expand. So Patrick decided to partner up with us and Parrot Gallery was born. We opened on Spring Mt. Road in view of the Las Vegas strip. We had birds, tropical fish, reptiles, and all manner of exotic pets and our party business grew too.

Now with a menagerie this big I could go on for ten thousand words with stories that would blow you away. Like when the ball python escaped into the sewer and gave a secretary the shock of her life when he turned up in her toilet three doors down. Poor Patrick had to play plumber with a real snake. Or the time our monkey was monkey-napped and Carol and I went undercover to rescue him from a gang of thieves. Yes there are so many stories but that's for another blog post, for now I'll try to keep it on topic.

Macayo too has many stories to tell but here is one of his best. Aside form kid and adult parties we also did free shows for classrooms and school carnivals. Birds weren’t the only critters we took to these educational events there were turtles, emperor scorpions, tarantulas and snakes. But it was a new member of the troop that really got them excited. Lash the Dragon would come crawling out of his black travel castle and flick his long forked tongue at the kids. He was a four foot long Nile monitor lizard of the Komodo family. Fierce to look upon but gentle as a pussy-cat unless you were a rat then it was curtains for you.

These events were all fun but the best one was Bird shows for Blind kids. Now you're probably scratching your head about now. “They're blind right?” Yes, but the visually impaired can see with their fingers. And virtually none of the kids in the audience had ever touched a small parrot much less a three foot long macaw with a huge hooked bill; capable of crushing walnuts. Lash was especially popular with the visually impaired kids for his hide was like beaded leather and he flicked them with his tongue, which got a lot of giggles. When the media heard about this, Macayo was the talk of Vegas. Two newspapers and three TV news crews covered the event.

Lash was getting a reputation too just a little scarier. He and I would stroll about in front of Parrot Gallery, he in studded black leather harness on a leash like a bull terror. He could clear a sidewalk quicker than you can say, “What the heck is that?” Like Macayo Lash was unique among the big lizards. They all came in wild and quick to strike with tail or bite. Most could be tamed with some work but Lash was different. He took to people and learned that they were a prime source of his favorite snacks. Now as promised the relevance of those aforementioned rock bands.

We still managed the mini storage for our friend and had many bands that we sometimes would hire for parties. You see how all things are connected. There was one group of talented young musicians that really wanted to enter the Battle of the Bands at a local nightclub. It was well known that a very popular group always took first place. But second place was usually up for grabs. Our unknown group, “My Exciter” had no chance in hell of winning anything. Too many top competitors with a good following of fans each. But we thought their brand of metal rock was good so we made some videos and got them a few gigs.
They had this one number that just cracked me up. They did a metal version of the Flintstones theme song. This got me to thinking, what if their lead dancer could do her number with Lash to the Flintstones? Lash was no problem but the young lady was terrified of the lizard that was almost as long as she was tall. I worked with her until she was comfortable and the big night came. The place was a mad house, the music was insane and Lash was cooped up for a long time in his special travel case. When My Exciter were finally called it was near midnight. They did their regular set which was good but was in no way going to get a prize. So it was all up to Lash who came out of his bag with a wild hiss. The music was loud and his partner danced behind him in a Wilma Flintstone cave girl costume as he tugged at his leash. Lash was very curious about the crowd and drug her to the edge of the stage. The gawkers in the front row all leaned back as far as they could. The howlers in the back wanted to see better and pressed forward.
Lash puffed up and strutted his dinosaur heritage for all to see, causing the audience to gasp and roar. He snared second place in his powerful jaws as if it were a fat juicy rodent and swallowed it whole.

Macayo continued to preform for audiences large and small and he appeared in TV in commercials as well as appearing in print. Remember the little boy that I was careful not to name? He grew up to become a beloved celebrity himself. Can you guess who he is?

 

Macayo is retired now and living comfortably in Mystic Canyon. We do a few tricks for the grand kids now and then just to stay loose. Recently, however I've put forth the idea of him maybe coming out of retirement and doing some web work, maybe You Tube. He's weighing his options.

Oh yeah the little boy. Give up? He's Matthew Gray Gubler... [Spencer Reid; Criminal Minds CBS.]... You know, The Riddler; Batman Assault on Arkham.. Yeah that Matthew Gray Gubler.