Missouri Welcome

Today I was remembering a conversation my two grandchildren and I had with an elderly gentleman we met while we were walking up and down the block in their new home state--Missouri. I'll try to quote it:


Gentleman: (standing in the driveway of his house, the one in this picture)
Good Afternoon.
We three: Good afternoon.
Zaya: Excuse me, Is this your house?
Gent: Yes, it is.
Zaya: It is a beauuutiful house! My grandma even took a picture of it when we passed by earlier.
Gent: Why thank you. We've lived in it for 42 years.
Mim: We just moved here from Oklahoma.
Gent: Oklahoma? So are you a Sooner or a Cowboy?
Zaya: Well, I can't be a cowboy, because I'm allergic to horses. (smiles) Actually, I'm a science fan.
Gent: A science fan?
Zaya: Yes, but I'm allergic to most animals so I'm going to be a biological chemist.
Mim: He's allergic to anything that has hair, even to my hamster Goki.
Zaya: I had a Tokay Gecko because he was a reptile, but we had to feed him live crickets and that was a real problem.
Gent: I imagine it was.
Zaya: Do you know what you have in Missouri? You have cardinals.
Gent: (All excited) Yes we do! How about them Saint Louis Cardinals!
Zaya: Well the male is all red and the female has a brown head and reddish beak.
Gent: (smiling) Oh! You mean the birds!

Grandma Lilibeth:(explaining) Yes, their new back yard is full of birds, and they're not used to seeing so many out in Western Oklahoma.
Mim: Yes, we see them on our deck and also hummingbirds and a spotted woodpecker.
Zaya: And some bird that we don't recognize that eats the ants off the hummingbird feeder.
Gent: Well welcome to Missouri! I think you'll like it here.


And I think they will. Their back yard is just perfect for a couple of young biological chemists.