(Maddie) To Kill a Mockingbird

Literally. Sorry, Harper Lee - there will be no attempt at deep symbolism here. I was trying to be witty when I came up with this blogpost title. However, the more I end up waking up in the middle of the night due to this feathered pestilence, the more I want to act out the title. The garden in our apartment complex is home to a particularly mimicry-adept mockingbird. He truly earned his title. He hasn't been too active as of late, but he was a beast earlier in my internship. During the first couple evenings, I thought someone was trying to jack a couple cars on the street. Lo and behold, the bird can make himself sound like a BMW, a Toyota, a Honda, etc. (they don't have too many American cars here). Mr. Mockingbird can also mimic a multitude of other organic and inorganic sound bites: building security alarms, various birds (confuses the hell out of the male morning doves), dogs, cats (Stella is often perplexed, especially when he mimics her mimicking birds), various other animals, too many cell phone ringtones to count (from Beethoven to Beyonce), beeps, tweets, honks, alarms, horns, and other mockingbirds. Of course, he can only practice his craft at night, at 3 FREAKIN' A.M. in the morning. Oh, how I simultaneously admire and loathe your skill, Mortimer Mockingbird! Why must you torture me so, you damn bird!?