Night Owl: The inverted moral world of the psychologically maladapted. I accompanied a friend who was dropping off her ill bird, and while she was at the reception desk filling out some paper work, I... Read More
Night Owl: The inverted moral world of the psychologically maladapted. I accompanied a friend who was dropping off her ill bird, and while she was at the reception desk filling out some paper work, I decided to idle away a moment or two admiring the incredibly exotic birds that were on display in cages in the reception room.I was admiring the birds, viz. being respectful of the environment, and not being a nuisance.Enthralled by one bird in particular, I produced my camera, and in an instant, heavy footfalls heralded the approach of the hospital's slattern. She stands at the doorway with her hands on her hips, surveys the offense that has occurred, inserts a five-second longueur to build the tension and emphasize her displeasure. "Don't photograph the birds; we are protecting our client's confidentiality!" Crestfallen by this injunction spilling from her lips with all the mercy of a swarm of hornets, I pursue the matter further, and am informed that the birds are being accommodated/boarded in the hospital's reception area while the bird's owners are away. Bear in mind that there are no notices stating that the birds are not to be disturbed by photographers, and the reception area is so tiny that simply making one's way around these massive cages is a bit of a struggle. I'm as acidic as they come, and don't suffer fools gladly, so I was happy to spill some venom regarding the slattern's less than cordial announcement. The old termagant behind the reception desk (as warm a person as Nurse Diesel, or Nurse Ratched) repeats the slattern's announcement, and one could be forgiven for thinking that one had inadvertently fallen into a North Korean prison camp such was the brusqueness of the staff. If this is how the staff deals with an innocuous scenario, I question their competence to deal with weightier matters...like tending to their ill charges.In short, they treated a potential customer/stranger as a tried and convicted bird thief. Utterly repellent attitude, and it is no wonder that my friend's bird has not recovered from its illness after the experiencing the tender mercies of the Night Owl Bird Hospital. Read Less