While in Louisville several weeks ago, we met up with my daughter Bridget and her boyfriend Scott at Cracker Barrel.
While waiting for a table, we browsed through the cornucopia of stuff they have on display.I immediately found Big Bird, new, yellow and oh so fresh! I hid him behind my back and waited till Bridget was in close proximity. I pulled him out and danced him towards her. She screamed, (like I knew she would) and grabbed him saying " My Big Bird" and began to hug him.
We both said at the same time, "Do you remember Dennis and Big Bird". And we both started laughing.
Long ago and far away in another world, while living in Louisville I was dating a guy named Dennis. Bridget was approximately three years old. She had a stuffed Big Bird that she carried around with her at all times. It was never out of her sight for very long. She had a habit of carrying him by his long neck which elongated it even more.
Dennis comes from a big Catholic family. Their main source of entertainment while growing up was teasing each other relentlessly until tears (or fists...he had many brothers). Dennis never grew out of it.
While he was visiting one day, Bridget was carrying Big Bird around and without much thought left Big Bird within Dennis' reach. In a flap of Big Birds wing span, Dennis had grabbed the disfigured Big Bird and proceeded to stick his head in the door jam and close the door repeatedly back and forth on poor defenseless Big Bird. You would have thought someone was killing Bridget with the blood curdling screams that came out of her mouth.
I was falling down laughing at the time, but Bridget was traumatized. Ever since then it has been known as the Big Bird incident.
I have seen Dennis off and on over the years. When ever I see him he always asks about Bridget. I relay this to her. No matter how much older she becomes, the time growing long since it happened, she still squints her eyes and mutters, "Big Bird Killer."
We laughed in Cracker Barrel and said in unison, "Big Bird Killer".