I was looking for a place to sit in a large, corporate-type cafeteria, but not one that I knew.

When I found a place to sit, I looked at my plate. My lunch was a bland chicken dish in a white sauce over rice. Also sitting on my plate were two live parakeets. They seemed docile and quite content with their role as garnish.

I had to look a long time to find someone who would believe that having live birds sitting on my plate constituted a health hazard.

Yes, that means a health hazard to me. The parakeets were just doing their job.

On the other hand, I do hope that their compensation package included long-term disability and survivor benefits.