Taco on the run

Taco is the name of my pet cockatiel. Well, his real name is Tacoma, but my husband insists on calling him Taco. Unfortunately, it has been a while since we have clipped his wings, so he flies any where in the house he wants to. Last Sunday night, we came home from a trip to Utah, as we do quite often, and left the door open while we unloaded the truck. I heard Taco squawk as he usually does when he has flown away from his perch where his food and water is. I thought I heard him from down stairs, my husband thought he heard him from the office. I figured he would be fine until morning, because we were both really tired. Well, next morning, I never heard a peep. I went looking for him in the basement, but couldn't find him anywhere. I was afraid that I was going to find a little dead body somewhere in the boxes and junk in the basement, so I had my husband do a more extensive search ( he's pretty great that way...). We gave up after some time, and it occurred to me, the front door was open for quite a while, he could have easily flown out. So I started asking around. My next door neighbor said that she hadn't seen anything, but that she would keep her eye out. I am sorry to say, but I was ready to give up. If he had flown out the door, he was on his own for almost 2 days, there's no way he could have survived! But a few hours later, my neighbor's oldest son knocked on our door and told me that Taco had been spotted on the roof of the pool house down the street. I have to say, I was surprised! So we threw the ladder in the truck bed and headed off down the street. When we got there, they were already trying to get him down. We couldn't get inside the fence, so I shouted to the guy that was standing on a fence post trying to reach him, that his name is Taco, and that he likes the kissy sound. It seemed to work, because seconds later, I heard Taco squawking and the guy came down from the post. I was glad to see my bird unharmed, and a little ashamed for having given up. As soon as i brought him inside the house, he was chirping at the top of his lungs (which my brother says sounds like a smoke alarm going off). I think he was glad to be home. He was very hungry and thirsty, and a little scared to have any one come close for a while, but he is doing much better now. First think tomorrow, were clipping his wings!