Hello!  My name is Margi and I am from SE Michigan.  I am an avid avian enthusiast and rescue organization supporter.

I have been a volunteer as the webmaster for the National Cockatiel Society since 2002 which includes running and overseeing their message board called Talk About Tiels.  History is another thing I enjoy and I have been a supporting member and regular visitor of the Henry Ford Village / Henry Ford Museum for the past decade.  I'm also very interested in wealth accumulation and investing and despite the fact that I have a heavy schedule I manage to read a couple books on that subject every month. 

Although I have no human children of my own, I am a member the Parent's Television Council and I do not watch much television at all due to the lack of intelligent content (in my opinion) and all the offensive material.  I don't even own a VCR and children's programming is on my television more often than not (and that is for the parrot's enjoyment mainly).  My life is way to full to be spent in front of a TV set and I keep abreast of the news by listening to talk radio (AM 950 here in the Detroit Area) and checking local news on the internet.

I've been playing around with musical instruments since I was quite young, but I still consider myself an amateur.  My first instrument was an acoustic guitar that my Dad brought home from a garage sale when I was around age 5.  When I was 9 years old I took up trumpet in the school band and this is when I learned to read treble clef sheet music.  Shortly after that time I began learning the keyboards.  My folks had an old organ in the basement and you could control the sound by a pedal underneath the main keyboard.  I'd use my thigh to control the volume.  I took formal lessons on a Lowry Genie 44 when I was 12 where I learned about pre-programmed drums, bass and special "wah" effects.  I also had formal guitar lessons at age 14.  Although I never had formal piano lessons, I taught myself the bass clef and learned to read bass for piano and bass guitar.  My prized guitar was a frosty blue '69 Fender Mustang.  Currently I enjoy playing a mean thumping Curbow bass guitar and a fretless ESP.  I have a Gallien Krueger amp and I play out of speakers that I acquired (through my Aunt June) from Cobo Hall in Detroit when they upgraded their sound system in the 1970s. 

I play rock-n-roll varied from the 1950s through to some of the current music of today.  Together we call ourselves the Mike Madison Trio:  My husband Michael (lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals), our good friend Jimmy (drums, Latin percussion, vocals) and myself (bass, keyboards).

My pets include birds (18 cockatiels, 5 conures, 2 pionus, 1 Barraband), 3 Italian greyhounds, 5 freshwater aquariums (2 tropical, 1 coldwater) and 1 snail farm tank.

I am a published calligrapher in the hardcover History of Ste. Anne's Parish in River Rouge, MI which goes back almost 200 years in the "downriver" area of SE Michigan and was written by the lovely and talented June Crosson-Crawford.  I have been commissioned to do everything from prominent area wedding invitations to private commissions of poetry, including some artwork and borders.  I haven't had as much time to devote to calligraphy lately.