Angry Birds

The first time I heard these two words was about a week before Adrian arrived from the US.  My friend G and I were shopping and she yelped when she found the perfect pair of ear phones for a little nephew.  She uttered three unfamiliar syllables I couldn't catch. 

“Antsy Birds?”  I asked.

“Angry Birds!” she replied.

“Hardy words?” I asked again.

“Angry birds!” she replied, louder this time. 

“Wordy curds?”  I was really trying mighty hard to understand.

“A-N-G-R-Y, B-I-R-D-S!”  she spelled them out, loud and clear. And she went on to explain what they were.

Not a fan of computer games, I had zero knowledge of these cyber creatures' existence.

Then Adrian, a cannonball at four, landed on our shores. He was to be left with Tony and me for four days while his parents took off somewhere.

On his first day alone with us, we brought him to a toy store.  “What would you like Amah (Chinese word of respect for grandma) and Angkong (grandpa) to buy you, Adrian?”

“Angry birds!” he said excitedly

“Antsy birds?” “Hardy words?” “Wordy curds?” These series of questions came not from me but from his Angkong. 

I patiently explained to the clueless senior what they were. To say he was shocked would be accurate. Not at Angry Birds, but at  how well I knew what was supposed to be Greek to our generation. 

It was a cinch from hereon.  Wherever we went—to the playground, the restaurant, the mall, the video arcade, the flea market, Rizal's hometown, a provincial farm, a resort—my technologically challenged roommate and I could spot Angry Birds miles away. 

Angry Birds mimicked grace—they were to our left, to our right, above us, below us, all around us. Countless. Endless.

We had not realized till then that these characters inhabit every single place and space these days—handbags, backpacks, umbrellas, hats, pencil cases, t-shirts, toys, ear plugs, posters, decals, you name it, Angry Birds are on it.

By the time Adrian's mom and dad were packing their luggage back to the US, they had to allocate one suitcase for Angry Birds—from both sets of grandparents.

Here's the thing. Adrian planed in as Captain America (and Green lantern, and Spider Man, and Iron man, and Captain Marvel, and everyone in the League of Super heroes), but flew out in less than three weeks as Angry Birds.

Whew!

Lord, thank you for the grace of a grandson who keeps us in the loop. Amen.