I was on an early morning walk and came across a guy staring at the telephone wires. As I approached, I caught the distinct aroma of marijuana. I turned to see what he might be looking at, and he held a finger to his lips to quiet me. He whispered, “there’s a mockingbird up there. If you listen, he’ll ring like a bell.” Sure, buddy.

So we stood there in silence, and then the little bird opened his mouth and sang chimes to us. He rang like a bell.

The stranger and I looked at each other, then smiled and laughed as we went our separate ways. That was a nice way to start a day.