Antique of the Week #2: Lil Flamingo(?) Guy

I don’t know what kind of bird this is, but I like it.

During my college days in Champaign, Illinois, I made a few trips to the local Goodwill looking for what any twenty-something looks for at a thrift store: cute, sort-of ugly sweaters and button-up shirts with spunky patterns. Some of my finds still sit in my closet to this day.

One day, I wandered into the knickknack section, where shelves overflowed with toasters, printers, child art kits, clocks…anything you can think of. I was just about to give up on this area when I noticed this guy staring at me among the forks and glassware:

He’s beautiful.

This guy. This lovely, wonderful guy. Handmade by someone with nothing but love. I appreciate the crisscross lines, the complementary shades of pink, the uhhh…interesting beak. I especially appreciate that his eyes are lower than his mouth. Listen, carving and painting wooden birds is hard, okay? (Seriously, it’s actually really difficult to get the exact proportions right according to my grandpa, who collects wooden ducks.)

Okay, he’s cute if you don’t look him directly in the eyes.

I bought him for $2. He sat on my desk for the rest of my time at college, and he has moved with me everywhere I go since. After about a year, I realized he had “St. Louis” painted on his tail. I moved to St. Louis in 2018…before I figured this out. 

:o

I don’t know if I believe in fate, or omens, or whatever the heck, but it’s comforting to think about this. How I just happened upon him, how he was this tiny lil presence in my life for so long, what the odds are of me moving to St. Louis with him marked by that very city without me knowing. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m exactly where I should be. Or maybe it’s just a happy coincidence. Who knows?