There were ten of us Smith kids, and when the youngest Bobby went off to the Army, Mother had herself a bad case of Empty Nest.
At first, she’d bake cookies for all the neighborhood kids, but between me and my surviving brothers and sisters, Momma had a bad habit of dropping things in mixing bowls without looking first, and thank God Daddy said he’d do all the cooking.
So, she put out a bunch of birdfeeders and birdhouses, and the homestead was covered with birds.
And bird shit.
Even more reason not to take any of her cookies, kids.