Bird by Bird

“There are an enormous number of people out there with invaluable information to share with you, and all you have to do is pick up the phone. They love it when you do, just as you love it when people ask you if they can pick your brain about something you happen to know a great deal about- or, as in my case, you have a number of impassioned opinions on.” Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird.

I was driving around and looking for new people to talk to when I saw something that made me stop. It was a yard filled with interesting…stuff. Mannequins, stuffed catfish, Madonna statues, a tank, a bald eagle and more placed across a yard in front of a Columbia home. I sat in my car and thought about how I would introduce myself. But I remembered reading that passage in Bird by Bird. I convinced myself that a person with this yard made a decision to make it look this way and they would want to talk to me. I knocked, but no one answered. So I worked up the courage to write a slightly awkward note- hi my name is Christie, I thought your yard looks interesting. I’d like to talk to you and take your picture. Give me a call.

The woman that lived there did give me a call. And she turned out to be an immensely interesting individual. More details on my meeting with her to come.