A few weeks ago Utah Sisters were in town for a visit. Because they live far, far, far, far away from the beach, they thought it would be a splendid idea to make a trip to the Pacific Ocean and enjoy the waves and the sand. It was cold and somewhat foggy when we arrived but
we enjoyed watching the seagulls and pelicans fishing for lunch and
eventually saw a small pod of dolphins frolicking in the waves.
| Not an actual photograph I took--but wouldn't it be cool if I did? |
Probably the funniest part of the day was my fear of
all the birds flying overhead.
| This is only a SMALL number of the birds we saw! |
The following is a reenactment of a conversation between my Utah Sisters, my Mom, and myself:
 |
| Good times at the beach! |
"There
are hundreds of birds here--maybe thousands of birds--and I'm nervous
that they may leave a little present in my hair," I said.
"Loralee, there are
NOT thousands of birds here," said my Mom.
"OK, maybe not thousands but certainly hundreds and they keep flying overhead."
Karen butted in, "You are worried about a bird pooping in your hair?"
"Yes," I replied, "It's happened before and it's not pleasant."
Barbara who had been down at the seashore dipping her feet in the ocean
and was not privy to any of the earlier conversation then joined us.
She sat down in her lawn chair and noticed the hundreds (maybe thousands
of birds flying
overhead.)
"Boy, all these birds make me nervous!" Barbara exclaimed. "I'm afraid they're going to poop on my head."
Karen and my mom burst out laughing! "What is it with my older sisters and their irrational fear of birds?" Karen
shouted.
"Hey, it's happened before," Barbara declared. "Yeah, it's happened to me, also," I cut in.
Grandma replied, "The birds aren't flying over our heads. This is a no-fly zone."
"I don't know," I replied. "They seem to be getting pretty close."
Barbara said, "I've got an umbrella in my car. Maybe I should get it?"
Aunt
Karen jumped in, "Actually, I have an umbrella in this bag. As I was
getting ready for my trip, I thought maybe I should unpack it but then
the thought came, nah, you might need it. Here, you can use it!"
Gratefully,
I unfolded the umbrella and held it over our heads. Ten minutes
passed. Fifteen minutes passed. Aunt Karen and Grandma continued to
mock us for our fear
of birds and their not so delightful gifts. Suddenly, I said:
 |
| Karen, Barbara, and I--and the trusty umbrella! |
"I heard a plop!"
Barbara
exclaimed, "I heard a plop, also!"
I lowered the umbrella and the
ugliest color green nastiness was on the umbrella! Barbara
and I felt vindicated by the umbrella's protection and Karen was
patting herself on the back for listening to the prompting she received
to take her umbrella to sunny and hot California where she prevented her
older sisters from being traumatized once again!
The end.
