Albert comes to visit!

Years ago, a friend used to visit the Little Bayou House quite often.  I miss him.  He was an elderly man named Albert.  I never knew when he was going to pop in to see me but it was always a pleasant surprise when he did.  Sometimes it would be early..early morning..before seven!  This did not bother me as I was an early riser and he would stop in to share a cup of coffee and a joke or two.  Never once did he bring dour news or complain about anything at all.  This all made his visits quite enjoyable.  One thing that amused me was his knock at the door.  It was never a simple knock but almost a "jingle" of raps.  Rap, rap, rappity, rap!  By that distinctive rapping, the kids as toddlers knew it was ok to open the door.  Sadly. Albert passed away leaving a gaping hole in our lives.

Not long after his death, I heard the familiar "rap, rap, rappity, rap" at the door early one morning!  Oh, my!  To say that I was taken aback by this would be an understatement.  The kids raced to the door to see Albert.  They were elated!  I was stunned!   The flung-open door revealed no one..Albert was not there.  This confused both the kids and me.  Were our minds playing tricks on us?   The next morning at seven..."rap, rap, rappity, rap".  Again, I opened the door to no one.  This was strange.  After the third morning of rapping, I decided to slip out the side door and investigate.  I was out at daybreak...waiting.  Not a person showed up at the door to do the knocking.  Still, I heard the familiar sound.  I was amazed at the visitor!  "There came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping"..at my front door (to steal a phrase from Edgar Allan Poe!).  The rapper was none other than a woodpecker!  After explaining to the kids who was doing the knocking, they agreed to name the woodpecker Albert.  The bird visited often and always tapped out the same rhythm of knocks as our friend Albert!  Had this bird watched the real Albert as he came visiting?  Had he learned the sequence of taps?  Or was this a sign that Albert was thinking of us?  The kids loved the latter and from that point on, they were quick to yell, "Mr. Albert is here and is telling us to behave!"  Wow!  I loved that, too!!

The rapping quit after the kids were grown.  Albert, the bird, no longer visited the Little Bayou House.  Was there just no reason for its visits or had the bird met its demise?  Who knows..but I sort of missed the morning wake-up call.  Then, after a decade or so, "rap, rap, rappity, rap"!  Huh?  This morning, I was jarred from sleep by the gently tapping at the door.  Was this the same Albert?  Birds do not live that long, do they?  Or is that rhythmic rapping some universal jingle that woodpeckers do?  Or....did Albert, my friend, just let me know that he was thinking of me?  Awww....I like the last one!