Sing A Song Of Sixpence . . .

In the wonderful town that I spent the first eleven years of my childhood, there is a great not-so-living legend of THE BLACKBIRD. I remember it as a very large spooky looking creature in front of a store (of the same name) that my parents took me to on a very regular basis. And if we weren't going in, I always noticed it when we drove by. It was founded in 1965 by a man who designed and built this 29 foot BlackBird to stand over the parking lot of his outdoor/hardware store. (But really it always had a lot of other crapola to buy!) The bird is constructed of re-bar, hog wire and fiberglass and is known to dine on small children who don't stay with their parents while on the premises. (Or so I was told!) It's truly one of the most photographed landmarks in all of . . . Medford.

While we visited my hometown last month, Ron made a short trip to BLACKBIRD to purchase something he needed for the yardwork he was doing at my mom's house. He told me there was a l-o-n-g line with about 30-40 people waiting. Preparing himself for a tiresome wait, and totally re-thinking the necessity of this small purchase, he was surprised when suddenly a cashier from another register called him over and the following conversation ensued.

RON: "Well, why are all those people standing in THAT line?"

CLERK: "They're paying their utility bills."

CLERK (seeing Ron's confusion): Oh, YOU must have a checking account!" (With an attitude of LA-DI-DA! I can only imagine if I had been with him. They'd have thought I was a total snob. What with wearing shoes AND a bra!!)

Ahhhh, that's our BLACKBIRD!!