My Little Friend

I have recently gained a new friend during my morning commute. He hops around, likes to eat crumbs off the sidewalk, and is not afraid to come within a few inches of me. No, he is not the crazy homeless guy that shouts obscenities towards the sky. I'll give you a clue--he has feathers. He is a little brown bird that haunts my bus stop looking for crumbs that people drop from their morning bagel/croissant/donut. One morning I saw him hopping around looking for crumbs. Apparently, the commuters were not our usual messy selves because he was having no luck finding breakfast. I just happened to be eating a croissant, and I thought I would help the little guy out by throwing him little pieces of the flaky crust. At first he was pretty hesitant, which is not surprising, being a native Bostonian he is likely to be very cautious and skeptical of any handouts. He would pick up the pieces and quickly retreat to a very sad looking clump of bushes next the bus stop. When he was ready for another piece, he'd hop out slowly and look at me from the corner of his eye as if to say, "Are you for real lady? Are you going to squash me during my next bite?" We continued in this way until he had finished my croissant and hopped away with, judging by my lack of croissant, a very heavy belly. I looked up, and all the other commuters were completely fascinated by the bird. Some people even had little smiles on their faces! Who would have thought that normally stoic commuters could be entertained by a little bird? I figured if he could brighten the morning of others by simply eating some breakfast, he deserves a little treat now and then. Now it has become something of a ritual. I try to bring bread or a croissant with me, and if the little guy is around, I throw him little pieces. He has become brave enough now that he almost will come within inches of my feet. It's not much, but I like to think I am making someone's day better.