"Let's see. P-R-I-V-A-T-E...Hmmm. Must mean food!"
(Click picture to enlarge)
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
~ Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Seagulls always amaze me; actually, they are a bit scary at times. I was running some errands one day and drove through that big "M" fast food place for a quick snack, having not had breakfast or lunch. It was near the edge of a strip mall and as there were still places to go, I simply pulled out into the middle of the vast empty parking lot to stop and eat. Have you ever been absorbed in a task and suddenly feel as if you are being watched? Sitting there, this feeling came over me... someone is watching me... but no cars in close proximity. I glanced out my window and there on the pavement was a lone seagull... standing perfectly still and staring up at me. We made eye contact as the burger hung there within inches of my mouth. It was a piercing look, an accusing look.... an Alfred Hitchcock The Birds look....a look that said..."a quarter inch of tempered glass is all that stands between me and that burger and that is not enough to keep me out!" So, of course I rolled down the window and threw out part of the bun. What else would I do? I didn't sign up to be in any horror film that day!
This sign reads... "no boats/rafts" and is obviously meant for human consumption; yet this seagull seems quite intent on the meaning of these words. Even though I know birds can't read and their brains are pea sized... still, they have a look of intelligence... when signs and hamburgers are involved..
By the way, while Alfred used a lot of crows in his movie... there was a scene where the seagulls went "postal" and attacked the phone booth... wasn't there?
Carmi's photographic theme this week is "signs"... as in signs of Spring or as here the more literal translation....posted signs. And this greedy little gull... he flew on over to Friday's Ark... what would you expect from such a forward animal.
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