Barney was a parakeet. Let me correct that--Barney was every parakeet that my grandmother ever kept as a pet. My grandmother definitely had a way with parakeets. They knew their name immediately and always came to her to either peck at her lip or to perch on her shoulder.

For a small child this was amazing. Those birds didn’t know who I was, or well, maybe they did and thought it better to keep their distance. I only received a visit from Barney when grandma was there to supervise. She and my grandfather raised parakeets and as such we also got to see the newborns when we would visit.

For some reason I remember Barney more than almost anyone else that I knew at that time in my life. I think he was magic.