Chicken Chat

By Butternose

This is my first edition of a new series called "Chicken Chat." It was inspired by all the cackling chickens out there afraid to say what they feel unless, of course, they are talking to a complete stranger - Butternose.
Now, by no means am I saying that I am an individual that leads the way by example because Lord knows I'm Irish and we don't talk about anything. Nope, we just order another drink to empty the bottle so we can make room for all of our feelings - oh, you thought us Irish drank because we actually enjoyed it?
Shame on you!
My goal is for all of us chickens, including myself, to keep these chats in the back of our minds as real life-lessons learned. Hopefully we'll begin to make better decisions in our daily lives based on someone else's not-so-great-decisions.
Back to the circumstance-at-hand.
I must proceed to tell you this story using lame representations of who everyone really was because otherwise someone's liable to sue me.
My first experience of Chicken Chat was a very impressive introduction and I must say it was amusing yet unbelievable all at once - utterly jaw-dropping!
Here's my TRUE story with altered names in order to protect the privacy of those involved.
Once upon a time there was a chicken who's little chick, Fannie, got dunked in a pool as a friendly gesture from another, much smaller little chick, Rosie. It just so happened that I, Butternose, witnessed the events in their entirety and all mother chickens involved seemed unconcerned and the day went on about its business.
The next day, Rosie's mom called me and was very upset because she had received a phone call from Fannie's mom explaining that Fannie had not slept through the night due to nightmares from being dunked in the pool by Rosie. Fannie's mom proceeded to tell her that Rosie could have killed her daughter by dunking her and that Rosie is a bully and she will no longer be allowed to "hang out" with Fannie because she said Fannie was now "terrified" of Rosie.
Well, about four weeks had passed and as I was taking a break with my little chick in a high traffic public area, I found a place to relax and watch my little chick play with all of the other little chicks.
Another mother chicken, who looked so familiar to me, sat across the way from me probably watching her little chick too.
As I sat there and struggled to figure out why she seemed familiar to me, I heard her yell, "Fannie!" Right then I remembered who she was, but before I could get out that I remembered her she was already talking about Fannie and then I naturally began talking about my little chick.
Before I knew where the conversation had gone, Fannie's mom began talking about how her daughter, although she's a "big girl" (in height) is always getting picked on. Then she proceeded to cackle and out came the whole cock-a-doodle-do about a bully named Rosie who had "almost killed" her daughter a few weeks before. She obviously did not recognize me, as I had her.
She continued to disgrace the name of a few other little chicks who her daughter hangs out with that supposedly bully her, and the sad thing is that I was aware that she is also friendly with the other little chick's moms.
Dumbfounded, I allowed her to cackle her little heart away. At this point I figured why stop her when she's already got the entire foot in her mouth, and she gladly continued.
Here's where I stop because the facts have been told so there's no need to continue.
The Problem: Besides talking to a complete stranger about specific people in a public place when there's a possibility they might know them, the problem here was how Fannie's mom exaggerated the truth, especially when I witnessed the situation.
The Solution: I should have stopped her mid-complaint and told her who I was, and let her know that it was not okay for her to be discussing such personal matters not to mention disgracing the reputation of a 4-year-old little chick.
Lesson Learned: There are probably many, but one that comes to mind immediately is DO NOT GOSSIP! Gossiping is rumor or report of an intimate nature, and it usually comes back to bite you in the tail anyhow. Leave the gossiping for the people who get paid to do it without repercussion, like gossip magazines. So, the next time you think you have something "juicy" you'd like to share with another person, think about the short and long-term effects on yourself and those involved.