[Andre Jute[_2_]]

Today, walking into Bandon across the footbridge, I saw the boss heron
sitting watching the weir. Perhaps the fingerling salmon are already
swimming out to Atlantic, which starts a few miles downriver at
Kinsale.

I called out to the heron, not too loudly, because it is a shy animal
that likes to believe it is invisible, "Al Marcy from Phoenix says
'Merry Christmas,'" and I could swear the heron nodded in a dignified
way, making an exception for a goodwill message from Al Marcy himself.

Merry Christmas, Al, and all.

Andre Jute
This time of the afternoon I eat a little something fanciful