First, I’m at Manic Readers today, talking about my shaky relationship with audiobooks. Come visit me! And then stop by Novel Thoughts, where they’re giving away a copy of Holiday Kisses!

Okay, so our McDonald’s and Burger King are fairly close together. They’re separated by a parking lot and the railroad tracks. The parking lot belongs to McDonald’s and it used to be the Park & Ride until the state built a new one and now it’s supposed to be for McD’s-bound buses and trucks. But, here in New England, we don’t take well to change, so it’s still used as a Park & Ride. Signs? What signs?

I took this picture from the McDonald’s drive-thru to give you an idea of how close the two fast-food joints are:

If Hitchcock had wanted his infamous birds to be seagulls, he could have filmed it in our Burger King parking lot. They swarm and dive-bomb for fries and glare at you as they take their time walking across the road in front of your car. They follow people around in little packs, waiting for children to drop their Happy Meal boxes. Want to feel like the Pied Piper? Walk around with a french fry held in the air. (Wear gloves.)

I have never seen a seagull in the McDonald’s parking lot.

What do they know?