Bird Seed
- Diana McDaniel Hampo
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
Pushing a yellow shopping buggy through the Park Avenue Dollar Store, Helen smiled, greeting everyone she and her daughter passed.
“Mom, that’s sweet but really not necessary.”
“I know dear.”
Unable to find bird seed, after two laps around the store, Helen pushed the buggy to the register to speak with the sole cashier, a young short girl, very pale with two silver studs just below her bottom lip. A red and green rose bush tattoo snaked up her neck, disappearing in her black hair.
“Can you tell me if you have any wild bird seed, young lady? I can’t seem to find it.”
“Yes ma’am, we should. It’s on the dog food isle, bottom shelf, just below the dog bowls.
There might be some kind of display in front of it. But I’m pretty sure we have a couple of bags.”
“Thank you. My birdseed got wet in the storm last night and you know wet bird seed can be very dangerous for wild birds. Bacteria and mold will grow, then the birds can get respiratory infections. I certainly don’t want that to happen to my birds friends, wouldn’t that be terrible?”
Helen’s daughter rolled her eyes and rubbed her mother’s arm. “Let’s go look Mom. No need to give this woman a bird biology lecture.”
The birdseed was exactly where the cashier said it would be, on the bottom shelf behind a cardboard Swiffer display.
Returning to the front, Helen placed the birdseed in front of the girl. “Goodness, you have a gift. You knew exactly where this birdseed was, didn’t she dear?”
Helen looked at her daughter who managed a saccharine smile. then continued addressing the cashier. “Thank you, so much young lady. You’re so impressive, a location expert, a savant even!”
Helen insisted on pushing her own buggy to the car.
“Mom, you don’t have to tell everyone, everything, all the time. People don’t have time for that. I love you but it’s just embarrassing.”
As Helen and her daughter pulled out of the Dollar Store parking lot the cashier with the pierced lip and rose tattoo turned to her manager, grinning, “Did you hear that? I’m a location expert. I’m a savant. Hell yeah!”
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