“I'm Kato, who moved in next door on the 1st. I live alone, but I keep a large parrot. She might make loud noises sometimes. I apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding.” A large parrot? Large parrots live fifty to sixty years, I'd heard. They don't become independent like human children do. I had never before considered what it would be like to be responsible for a living creature for fifty to sixty years. A large parrot—what color might it be? Gray? Colorful like red and blue? Would it learn human words? I found myself very eager to meet this parrot. And I also wanted to meet my neighbor, who had chosen to spend such a long time living with a parrot. What do parrots eat, I wondered. Sunflower seeds, perhaps? I bought a bag of sunflower seeds, and on a warm evening in mid-April, I rang my neighbor's doorbell. Kery Rowden, LCSW from the Center for Psychoanalytic Study - Houston On April 1, a small woman moved into the apartment next door. A small woman with a big footprint. Oy, the stuff. Boxes and boxes of it. She must have come from somewhere with a lot of room. It took a couple of guys the whole day to bring it all in, up and down the stairs they went, toting boxes and furniture and God knows what until their blue t-shirts with the drawing of a muscled Atlas turned dark and their faces dripped. I hope she gave them a tip. Back and forth, up and down, the hot, humid air rising up the stairs, filling the hallway. At least it wasn’t raining. That would have been a mess. It was Good Friday. Easter was late. Or was it early? I never understood those holidays that move around on the calendar. What I do know is that it was hot early. I mean, it’s mostly hot in New Orleans, but what people don’t know is that it’s not hot all the time. Sometimes it’s really cold, but what it mostly is is wet. Babette Saebisch, DPG / German Psychoanalytic Society On April 1st, a short, elderly woman moved into the apartment next door. Ricarda thought it was an April Fool's joke when her partner told her about it over dinner. "You're kidding me," she said with a stiff expression and turned away from him. She reached for her half-empty plate and cutlery – as she placed them next to the sink, the first tears were already running down her cheeks. Massimo came over to her and gently took her in his arms. "Why would I? Do you think I've already forgotten how much Amma's death affected you and how agonising you found that stupid horoscope line?"
19
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker