Late for Work

/ roughwighting

hummingbird, late for workIt all began with the hummingbirds, sir.

Yes, Mr. Grant, I’m serious. I awoke in plenty of time to get to work by 8:30, but as I got out of bed, I heard a noise outside and peered out my window.

No, not my boyfriend’s window. I was home. I have a hummingbird feeder located right outside my bedroom window, and the hummers come every early morning and then at dusk.

I’m trying to tell you what this has to do with the fact that I was two hours late, sir, I am getting to the story.http://sbdcrn.blogspot.com/2013/12/things-not-to-ask-on-job-interview-lou.html

Anyway, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I stared at the feeder through the screen of my window. Two little fairies, the size of hummers, were sitting on the red feeder dish and talking. Their voices were high-pitched, obviously, and spoke in a language I didn’t understand, but they were definitely having a conversation.

You’re rolling your eyes, Mr. Grant, but the reason I’m late truly has everything to do with these fairies. And no, I’m not being disrespectful, sir. Yes, I know we have a strong anti-discrimination policy in this company. I’m talking about real to goodness Fairies – the kind we grew up on, you know, FAIRY Tales. These little creatures were tiny with wings like hummers, but they wore florescent green outfits, sort of like a Catholic girl’s get-up except the skirts were short and the caps were black.

Yes, my fairies wore caps.

I don’t know if they had hair, Mr. Grant. I didn’t notice that. Are you making fun of my story? Go on, you say? Okay.

hummingbirds, fairies, Mary Moore ShowWell, then, they flitted, these two fairies, from the hummingbird feeder to my deck. I pulled on a pair of shorts and T-shirt and quietly, quietly, opened the deck door. They didn’t fly away. In fact, I think they were waiting for me.

What? I’m FIRED? Are you kidding me? You don’t know the rest of the story. That’s not fair! Make it quick? Fine. They flew into the woods behind my house. I followed them. Through some kind of vine portal, and then.

A portal, not a PORT HOLE. You think I’ve dug a hole for myself? But wait until I tell you where the fairies took me! You’re sending me where? HR for Psyche consultation? Well, you can’t fire me then, Mr. G. That would be psychic discrimination. hummingbirds, hummers

No, I’m not kidding. That’s what the fairies told me to say!

 

124 thoughts on “Late for Work”

  3. Hahaha. You know, of course, I heard this whole story in MTM’s voice. 😏
    It’s so much fun to see hummingbirds. We couldn’t keep up with keeping our feeders filled, and we never saw any hummingbirds at them, so we gave them up.

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  10. This story with the puns – so FUN! I wish I could attract hummingbird “fairies” as you have. My feeder is stocked with sweet nectar, but I haven’t been able to capture a shot like yours. I’d be envious if I didn’t like you so much – ha!

    Here’s to the joys of the Mary Tyler Moore show, hummingbirds, and the magic of storytelling. Have a wonderful weekend, Pam.

    Liked by 3 people

    • We had so many hummingbirds visit us and our feeder in the San Francisco Bay area I was amazed when they followed us here in the Boston area. They seem, quite comfortable here on our feeder and on our flowers during the summer, but in early May and late September I can see them shivering as they drink up that sweet nectar. 🧚‍♀️😏

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  11. I would love to wake up to these amazing birds Pam, and love your tale of why you were late. I think the magic of watching these tiny magical birds would have me flying through the portal into the fairy realms daily.
    Lovely video capture.
    Enjoy your flight into the weekend 😉💓🙏 much love.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’m sitting on the porch reading your comment and smiling. As I’m sitting here responding to comments about my hummingbird story, two of them came flying all around me. Turns out I have a beautiful red geranium plant sitting next to my rocking chair and they just love sucking up the flower’s nectar. How cool is that? Hope you are having a great weekend and that all is OK with your parents. 💜

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    • I so love the sound of the Hummers wings when she gets near to me. Can’t reproduce it in any way but the buzzing in my ear as I sit on the front porch lets me know she’s coming around to say hi. 🧚🏻‍♂️💜

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  22. Love this for several reasons: first, I have a Hummingbird feeder outside our kitchen window and it always makes me smile to see them frolicking and bellying up to the bar! Second, I shared this story about Mary Tyler Moore’s career, and a fantastic book about the creation of her namesake show…finally, a reason I can’t share yet, but it does indeed involve Mr. Grant and is happening soon! https://johnrieber.com/2017/01/25/rip-mary-tyler-moore-brilliant-entertainer-broke-tv-barriers/

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  23. Since I only infrequently watched the ‘show’, I’m flying in to see you my ‘Psych’, Dr. Hoagy Bovine…you will like him – he’s a fairy with a big nose and gentle heart!
    (Hey, I don’t know! It just came to me!) 🙂
    (Probably part of the ‘aging process’!)
    From the ‘wilting Warrior’!

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    • There’s no way you can be a wilting Warrior writer, Billy Ray. Your perfusion of books is so impressive! Hope you are feeling well this beautiful weekend. Maybe a hummingbird will come visit. If she does know that I have sent her to you. XO

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          • Hi, Pam, WP,
            Just finished doing a new WordPress blog/website: https://www.brchitwood.com
            I’ve written nearly 400 posts over the years, and I’ve spent this Sunday afternoon looking for the ‘Humming Bird’ post and couldn’t find it… the H/B in question hit a window in our living room just off the outside deck and dropped to a deck table, stunned… It was still alive, and I went out and sat with it for a time, picked it up and gently rubbed its body, dropped a few tears (I’m hopelessly distressed when any bird hits our windows!) … I said some silly maudlin phrases, and, after some thirty minutes or so we stared at each other and it flew away It was amazing, the love I felt, the relief, as it flew away – and, guess what, I’m thinking it was the same hummingbird, flew back to that window, stopped, did its little ‘flutter dance’ on several days, and I read those incidents as any poet would read it – thrilled and a bit closer to our Maker…

            The blog said pretty much what I’ve said here, a bit more dramatic, perhaps…
            Go to brchitwood.com – my books, all the posts are on there, and, you might run into it at some point. Let me know if you continue having trouble with my domain site (you should not need the sub-heading – ‘Books and Writing of BR Chitwood’). Sorry I couldn’t find the post, dear lady.

            You and yours have a wonderful week ahead.

            With fondness,

            Billy Ray

            Liked by 1 person

            • What a beautiful Hummingbird story. I followed you in every word and action. YES, I do feel that these birds-of-flight connect with us, and I think your hummer was thanking you with gratefulness. This summer a hummer stopped and twirled/danced in front of me for minutes at a time almost every early morning – we stared at each other eye to eye, only inches apart. An amazing experience. Thanks for your link – I’ve had a great time reading your latest posts! ❤

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  28. Of course Mary would follow the fairies. Who wouldn’t other than Mr. Grant, the old curmudgeon. That was such a fun show. Loved every character there. And they were characters. 😉 Thanks for this. A real bright spot in the day.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Back in the day, Mary used to brighten us one evening a week, didn’t she? I feel badly for all the people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who don’t know what the heck I’m talking (writing) about, but hopefully they got a taste of Mary and Lou by their hummingbird conversation here. 😉Thank you so much for your comment!

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    • When you think about it, each actor was perfect for the role they played in that show. Makes me nostalgic for really good TV comedy shows. Makes me wish I was a screenwriter back then for the Mary Tyler Moore show! 😀

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    • I do know that Liesbet. But I don’t think Lou Grant did. I am realizing you may never have seen the Mary Tyler Moore show! I think that should be on your list of “to do’s.” Taken into context, you can see how that show gave women the right to their own minds and decisions – and thus was ahead of its time in wonderful ways. 💜

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  39. Hi Pam – a fun story! I saw my first hummingbird in our yard this week. Came right to the window. We don’t have a hummingbird feeder, but I planted a bunch of “four o’clocks” and this little bird must have been looking for them 🙂

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    • Sorry about that Andrea. I guess you never saw the Mary Tyler Moore show, which was an American comedy that featured a woman in the ‘70s and ‘80s who made a stand to be independent and not totally rely on a man. It was a great way to stress feminism without getting people all upset. Mary‘s boss, Lou, kept on trying to intimidate her, and she never let him. Glad you enjoyed the conversation here even though you never knew Mary. 😉

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  44. You were so good in writing this story,, Pam, and it was so so funny. Yes, you should have been a screen writer for the show, or for any show. I love you hummers video. I should take some of my hummers also. The papa bird died a couple weeks ago, of old age? From the first photo I took of him until a couple weeks ago, he would have been 4+ years old and that was average for a hummingbird. The female bird and the two years old baby are still here. They are the resident in my garden. 🙂

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  45. A magical story about a magical bird. I love the little humming birds that visit the plants that I grow just for them and the butterflies. I don’t put up feeders for fear that I might forget to change the solution every two days. It is just much easier, for me to plant things that will attract them. In my past of Texas, there us the Ruby throated and the Black chinned hummers but further south and west there are several species of hummers- in the Rio Grande valley, the Davis mountains and the Big Bend area of Texas.

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  46. Love itttt. My brother Tom once overslept on a weekday after a night out with friends. With no clean laundry, he was forced to *overdress*, and arrived very late for work. His boss noticed, and asked him out to lunch… So my brother prepared himself for the ax. However, his boss mistook the formal attire and tardiness for what could only be a 9 a.m. job interview elsewhere! He promptly, “convinced” Tom to stay with the company by giving him a promotion and a raise. Another example of truth being stranger than fiction.

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