Polly Want a T-Shirt
September 10, 2022
Yesterday, I ran by Office Depot in Franklin to get a 2022-2023 calendar and pick up a few other things. Coming out, I decided to pop next door to check out what the Burlington store might have for cheap. Sure enough, they had a navy blue, long-sleeve, button-down by Lee (the jeans company) for $14, so I grabbed it and headed for the checkout. And then, “what to my wondering eyes should appear” but a parrot on a shopping cart just ahead of me in line. And I think he belonged to a pirate with exotic tattoos. The bird wasn’t on his shoulder, and he didn’t wear an eye patch, but I had my suspicions. To nail things down, I asked the guy what his favorite letter was, and he answered, “rrrrrrrr.” Check and mate.
Kidding of course. He was too nice to be a pirate, and he and the bird were happy to have their picture taken. I’ve been around for a long time, but I’ve not seen a free-as-a-bird bird in a clothing store. I’ve seen a few of them flying around confused inside airports and convention centers, looking for a way out. And, of course, I’ve seen other animals indoors—service dogs in a coffee shop and small pets in carry-on cages on airplanes. I even saw a dog in a Florence, Italy restaurant, lapping up the vomit from a guy in our tour group. (Can’t get that one out of my mind.) But never, never, have I seen a pet bird along for the ride in a retail establishment, untethered and unruffled by our gawking.
I can’t say I had this on my bucket list. But I might have had it there had I known how much we’d enjoy the sight. Life has a lot of little irritants, the friction of misplaced keys, bungled orders at a fast food restaurant, an empty shelf where you were counting on finding a favorite product, a texting driver drifting over into your lane, etc. But life has an abundance of pleasant surprises which serve to lubricate our comings and goings, items to lift our spirits or ease our dismay—hence, the parrot. He seemed indifferent to our presence, but we were far from indifferent to his, as evidenced by the phone shots the clerk and I took.