Toucanostramingo

First, let me explain my friends, Paul, Winston & Debra. We fantasize about the kind of practical jokes we would play on each other had we had tons of money at our disposal. Jokes like sending one on vacation and then coming in and hand painting, on velvet, the Last Supper on a prominent wall in the living room. Or completely re-landscaping the yard in Gnome Villiages. Or how about redecorating the house in a taste opposite of the jokee's taste. It provides us with hours of amusement and belly laughs.

Since we don't have that kind of money, we shop at thrift stores for things to make each other laugh. Or, rather, Paul, Winston & Debra do. They have taken shopping at thrift stores and discount stores to a higher art form. So, since last July, I have been hearing, "I can't wait until you open your Christmas Present!" This has caused me many nights of trying to figure out what in they world they might have gotten.

When I arrived home from a family vacation, there was a 5-foot box on my porch. "Hmm...could this be the gift from Paul, Win and Deb? Why yes, it is." So, after a brief struggle with packing tape, carboard and packing paper, my efforts revealed the following:

A Toucanostramingo

Notice, if you will, the unusually large feet and small wings. This bird couldn't get off the ground if he tried. And that Beak! What exactly is it used for? Fishing or berry eating? And, obviously, his sight isn't very good. Notice the crossed eyes. So I must give him a safe home.

Thank you, Paul, Win and Deb. This Big Bird will provide lots of laughs and explainations until I decide that he must go back to his natural habitat: Goodwill.