Toby Wants A Raven

Yesterday was very much like a holiday - it was impossible to concentrate on anything.

In the streets, and at the supermarket, the mood was absolutely daft.

Towards evening, I walked into Safeway wearing my lime-green Obama 'Believe' T-Shirt over my button-down collared suede plum long-sleeved shirt - something of a fashion faux pas on legs, but perfectly in keeping with the moment. A 5-year-old African-American girl saw me, turned to her father and said, "Daddy, look, he's wearing an Obama shirt!"

An anxious man in the wine section asked "Do you know anything about wine? I have to get something that goes with chicken, but I don't know what that might be." I suggested White Zinfandel, but he scurried off for a professional opinion.

In the checkout line, there were two men, one also wearing an Obama T-Shirt, and his friend. The friend said, "I've been looking for McCain T-Shirts but I can't find them anywhere!"

And on the street, I met a fellow named Toby, with whom I shared a madcap conversation about this and that. Looking upwards, he said "See those crows? They live in West Sacramento, and they come into Midtown every day, before heading back to West Sac for the night. See? There they go now!"

I promoted the many blessings of owning parrots, and scrub jays, but Toby had his own idea. "I want a crow. No, not just a crow; I want a raven!"

And why not? If the 'Knights Who Say Ni' can get a shrubbery, why can't Toby get a raven? "Yes we can!"