Monday, May 26, 2008
Spring Has Sprung
It’s that time of year again. Awkward, ugly babies are careening out of nests all over the city, taking their first tentative flights towards adulthood.
In my yard, these two little bastards spent from approximately 5AM to 9AM screeching at what must be their mother. I thought Kiwi had sunk his teeth into one of them but no, that’s the sound they normally make.
They hopped around their mom, yelling and screaming, trying to get their greedy little beaks on anything she managed to pull from our freshly aerated ground. She’d peck at the dirt a bit, then turn back and peck at their beaks as if to say, “look, kid, it’s right there! Just make a little friggin’ effort!”
But no, the kids would rather whine and screech, no regard for any humans or dogs who happen to be sleeping nearby.
You know, they are not unlike the middle school kids who descend en masse upon the corner store every lunch hour. The store is manned seven days a week almost single-handedly by a tired looking middle-aged Italian woman. She’s sweet; I mentioned I liked Wasabi rice chips and she had them in by the end of the week.
In addition to carrying a selection of tomato paste and ancient Lady Bics, she also makes pizza in a big, industrial oven that takes up a corner of the store. Since she doesn’t have air conditioning, you can imagine how hot and stuffy it gets in there, especially at the height of summer.
The pizza isn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it’s generous and fresh and cheap, which is why the middle school kids love it. All hair and elbows and f-bombs, they cram into her store, counting out $3 worth of nickels and dimes for a can and a slice. I avoid the store at lunch hour because, well, frankly, screeching teenagers set my teeth on edge.
And yet, those lunch hours probably make her a lot of her money. Mixed blessing, I guess. Probably what the momma bird thinks when she gazes at her awkward progeny. Who, by the way, are standing on the fence screeching again because OMG! IT TOTALLY JUST RAINED!!
Screech away, little bird. You’ll soon learn that it attracts exactly the kind of attention you don’t want….
posted by Working From Home Today
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