To Be Human

She was pushing a wheel chair filled with the wrinkled and frail body of an incoherent old woman.  The old woman’s eyes closed shut in her white face of cascading wrinkles.  There were three, they traveled slowly, south down the wide, concrete sidewalk, out for a walk in the afternoon sun next the road which traveled next to the sea.  The streets were lined in over-pruned sycamore trees, their fingerless knotty fists punching at the blue Mediterranean sky overhead. 

I noticed the bird first.  Sitting on her left shoulder, its feathers gray like the woman’s hair who pushed the chair.  A red cloth lanyard draped from the bird’s foot to the woman’s wrist.  With delight, I looked into the woman’s eyes and she stopped our group with the warmth of a friend. White eyed, the bird peered at me as her owner commanded his tricks.  Drawing me in close to the bird, she ordered the handsome bird to kiss me.  A gentle peck on the check – we all shouted out in glee! The bird and I gave each other a high five.  Cheers from the group!  She handed me the fine feathered friend and it cradled in my arms like a baby, peering all the time with those white eyes above the black shining beak.  The bird, back on its owner’s hand, gave a squawk and we cheered again in delight.  What a priceless gift!

This connection of human beings.  Her world so far from mine.  We do not share languages, we do not share countries.  We share only the act of being human.  We connected through the delight of a parrot.  Her gift was priceless. To be held forever in my and our group’s memory. 

Thinking about this wonderful experience on this, my birthday.