SUCKER

I'm having a relatively good morning.  I sleep well, my hair is washed and dried at a decent hour, lunch is packed and ready to go, and I only leave the house a few minutes later than I'd hoped.  Traffic on the main road is backed up a bit, so I turn down the side street by the prep school.  With so much traffic on the direct route, the indirect route will take as much time, maybe even less, today.

As soon as I round the corner, I notice the brilliant gold of the morning sky.  The sunrise is exceptionally brilliant today, and I would've missed this sight going to work the other way.  I am so impressed by the colors that my mood shifts from so-so to full-on happiness.

(not my pic)

Yup.  Even though I'm moseying along on my slow but merry way, I'm feeling positive that it's going to be a decent day after all. Until I get to work, that is.

I pull into the back lot, park my car in its usual spot, and listen to the end of a song.  Throwing the car door open, I am not greeted by the fresh air nor the yellow-blue sky nor any of the cheery coworkers I often meet who arrive around the same time.

Nope.  This morning I am greeted by a very loud and obnoxious crow that is perched high on a nearby lamp post.  It caws at me with a voice that clearly screeches, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww."  It's a sad sound, a mocking sound.  That sonofabitch bird is making fun of me because I have to go inside to work and it doesn't.

I caw back at it.  What do I care?  No one else is around.

The crow responds quickly.  "Ca-ca-ca-AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW," which clearly translates into, "Suuuuuuuucker.  Have a stupid day at work, you suuuuuuuckawwwwwwwww!"

Bastard.  I caw once more, chuck the bird The Bird, and let myself into the building for a long day of teaching, meetings, and fielding emails, phone calls, and other minutiae.  Clearly the bird is correct.  It's a decent day outside and the temperature is finally (albeit temporarily) hovering around sixty degrees.

What am I doing?  I'm going to work. Oh, man.  Suuuuuuuuuuuuucker.