Intriguing Sight

 Dear Diary:

I was strolling down MacDougal Street just after the most severe part of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. I was glad to see that people were out and about, with some sitting on chairs and benches.

Among the most intriguing of these was a woman with a white cockatoo perched on her shoulder.

I approached her and asked whether I could talk to her bird.

“He never learned to speak,” she said, “but sure, say hello.”

“Hello, hello,” I said.

The parrot responded by barking, a real yip like a small dog.

“Oh yeah,” the woman said. “We used to live with a Yorkie.”

— Judith Miller