Once upon a time I left my house on a Tuesday and when I came home there was a little yellow bird flying loose in the hallway outside my door. I caught him and now he lives in a cage in my bedroom where he sings for his breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis.
The same day the next week, which just happened to be today, I came home to discover that something had been in my house. I looked at the crackers on top of the refrigerator and they had fallen down onto the counter top. I looked at the air conditioner in the wall and the insulation around it was all chewed up and open. I looked at the rug and it was covered in bugs and worms and pieces of that insulation. I even look at the footstool and it was covered in bugs and bird do.
I thought something had been in my house. It had been on my windowsills and my refrigerator and my carpet -- and it was still here!
A dark shadow scrambled out of sight when I glanced towards the sofa.
I called up the apartment managers and they sent three men over. A big man, a man with glasses and a wee small man whose mother had an African parrot that got loose in Texas last week. The big man opened the door. The man with glasses peered into my air conditioner and the wee small man took my tea towel and caught a young black bird that was hiding behind my couch and flew quickly into the bathroom.
Then all three men promised to board up the hole the bird used to get into my apartment and nearly did that when I told them to be sure and remove all the other birds first.
Now the big man, the man with glasses and the wee small man will all come back in the morning. Hopefully they will bring insulation and new packing and tape and a grate big enough to keep all the new visitors from entering my apartment through the hole in the wall that surrounds my air conditioner!
Tonight I will sleep in my own bed, dreaming dreams of birds that dig their way into my apartment past three men. One who is big. One who wears glasses and one wee little man whose mother just lost her parrot in Texas.
The same day the next week, which just happened to be today, I came home to discover that something had been in my house. I looked at the crackers on top of the refrigerator and they had fallen down onto the counter top. I looked at the air conditioner in the wall and the insulation around it was all chewed up and open. I looked at the rug and it was covered in bugs and worms and pieces of that insulation. I even look at the footstool and it was covered in bugs and bird do.
I thought something had been in my house. It had been on my windowsills and my refrigerator and my carpet -- and it was still here!
A dark shadow scrambled out of sight when I glanced towards the sofa.
I called up the apartment managers and they sent three men over. A big man, a man with glasses and a wee small man whose mother had an African parrot that got loose in Texas last week. The big man opened the door. The man with glasses peered into my air conditioner and the wee small man took my tea towel and caught a young black bird that was hiding behind my couch and flew quickly into the bathroom.
Then all three men promised to board up the hole the bird used to get into my apartment and nearly did that when I told them to be sure and remove all the other birds first.
Now the big man, the man with glasses and the wee small man will all come back in the morning. Hopefully they will bring insulation and new packing and tape and a grate big enough to keep all the new visitors from entering my apartment through the hole in the wall that surrounds my air conditioner!
Tonight I will sleep in my own bed, dreaming dreams of birds that dig their way into my apartment past three men. One who is big. One who wears glasses and one wee little man whose mother just lost her parrot in Texas.
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