January 18, 2023
Subject: Bird 19
Just a little neon bird
glowing in the dark
singing till the morning comes
a hoppy, tweety lark
Random childhood memory -
In 1976 or '77, I was around 7 years old or so, playing in the backyard, having the time of my life. I loved being alone outside. If I could go back to just one day in my childhood, I'd probably want to spend it in my backyard, in my treehouse, or jumping on the trampoline.
I grew up in Oak Cliff, a large section of Dallas, Texas. My childhood there was absolutely golden.
On this one particular day, at age 7, I was lost in my own little world, playing on the trampoline, but not ON it - I was hanging upside down from the rail, maybe pretending to do gymnastics or something. I just remember holding on with my hands, my legs up over the rail, swinging there, upside down, and singing.
I enjoyed this for a moment or two, then.... SPLAT.
Suddenly there was something in my mouth.
It came from the sky.
It tasted gross.
It was all over my front teeth...
I had a suspicion that it was bird poop.
I was not wrong.
This was discovered to be true after running inside and looking in the mirror. My front teeth and part of my tongue were splattered in black and white bird poop.
I rushed to the bathroom, wiped the poop off of my teeth, and spit out all I could into the sink, before rinsing my mouth out.
That's the story of The Day I Got Bird Poop In My Mouth.
