When I used to live in Florida, I visited Key West from time to time. Something interesting about Key West is that roosters run around the streets and crow all day.

This reminds me of the farm I grew up on. The rooster used to wake everyone up at 5 am and crow from a wooden fence. Everyone knew it was time to get up and do the chores: help my Mom make bread, feed the goats, milk the cows, pick the fruit, and pick up the eggs (my chores). The smell of my Mom’s fresh baked bread every morning always made me hungry.

The rooster used to harass my neighbor. He would hide behind the wall and stalk my neighbor. When he saw her walk by, he would peck at her skirt every single time he walked by. He would only attack her. He had a love/hate relationship with her because he would never hurt, but he would always peck at her. But, he was always afraid of my father. My father used to joke, “one of these I’m going to cook you”! But, of course, he never did. My father actually loved the rooster, and the rooster was his favorite. He was always well-behaved around my father, but he loved to torment my neighbor. She would call out to my Mom when she was walking to our house to come get her, and my mother would have to call out to my father to make the rooster leave her alone.

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