The Free Bench Taketh, and It Giveth Back Sometimes, Too

It’s a miracle!  This summer, the very hip residents of the house apartments next door decided to have a garage sale.  They had some pretty cool stuff for sale, and at the end of the day, anything they didn’t think they could sell elsewhere they brought to the Free Bench.  One of the things they brought was a large, fanciful papier mache bird, three-plus feet long painted in bright blues and purples.  We were delighted thinking we had encountered at last the Free Bench mascot.  It took us several days to figure out how we wanted to attach it to the Bench, and during this time of deliberation, the bird lay close enough to the Bench that, before we had a chance to hang it, someone else saw the amazingness of it and took it home.

Several times since, we have commented on our disappointment that we were so careless with the bird.  Then two days ago – you guessed it – et voila, the bird was back!  A piece of white tape is wrapped around its beak, but otherwise it is intact.

As usual, I am intrigued.  What happened?  Did the bird not satisfy over time?  How did its beak get broken?  Did the new owner and the bird get into an altercation that resulted in a bent beak and the bird being booted?

And don’t you love all that alliteration?