I checked for any new texts from my wife as I walked into the Everything Your Pet Deserves Super Store.  It turned out that the birdseed was at the back of the store, across from the Pet Chapel and the gravestones.  It took me a few minutes to find the right one.  They have more types of birdseed than bread in a grocery store.  Fortunately, my wife texted me with the specific one she wanted.  As I turned to head to the cash register, I looked up and saw Jerry, an old friend from yoga class, headed my way.

"Robert!" he called out.  "Hey, how are you?  Long time no see.  How are you, anyway?"

"Good, good, Jerry.  And you?"

"Awesome!  I'm sure you heard about the prison thing, right?"

"Awesome news, right?"

"I know!  And it's exploding all across the country.  Last I heard, since that first guy came out yesterday morning, there have been 347,281 other inmates who have self-identified as innocent.  Can you imagine?"

"Awesome."

"I just heard on the radio that there are 'Right to be Innocent' celebrations breaking out all over."

"I heard that, too.  And there are freedom marches heading for state and federal prisons.  By noon, there won't be a stitch of yellow ribbon or a  yellow rose to be had anywhere in the country."

"Wow!  But the best is, did you see the guy they interviewed on TV this morning?  The way he teared up when he said, 'Just like you and me, they were born innocent.'  That really choked me up."

"It really hits home, doesn't it?  They were born that way."

"And the money it'll save!  We've been wasting $50 billion a year on incarcerating these poor souls.  Fifty billion a year!  That doesn't even include the cost of the courts, parole boards, enforcement, bureaucratic nightmares like the Sex Offenders Registry, etc., etc., etc."

"I know, right?"

"After we convert the prisons to something that helps society, we can use that money to help them catch up on the years they lost.  Right?  Like therapy, schooling, housing, cars, and phones.  Whatever.  I'm glad it's finally over.  They're right: we do owe them."

"I know, right?"

"But hey, back to what's up with you.  That seed you're buying is the best stuff on the market.  I didn't even know you had birds."

"We don't.  This morning, my wife self-identified as a canary.  I'm just picking up lunch."

A resident of Colorado for 40 years, Mike Kirkwood has authored a collection of short works, What If…, and a novel, Fathers.  Both are available at www.amazon.com.