Why do I have a chicken purse named Magerk?
Many of you might recognize my friend Magerk. He is my chicken purse. Why the cluck do I carry around a chicken purse?! Is it to get attention? Is it to divert the attention away from me and onto something else? Is it because I’m a chicken freak? People often ask me if I have chickens. Nope! I don’t.
Here’s the story:
I remember our first time playing the 8×10 in Baltimore. I was so excited! And scared. Why? It’s a real music venue! Not just a bar where they move tables out of the way and you play in front of a television. (Which is totally fine, by the way! We LOVE bar gigs. So fun!) We got there early to load in and set up/soundcheck etc. Then we had a few hours to kill before our set time. The sound engineer told us the venue did not serve food, but we could run next door to grab a beer and a cheesesteak. Beer and cheesesteaks? We’re in! What was the place called? Magerk’s. I immediately giggled to myself and thought “Magerk. That sounds like what a chicken would say.” [insert Beavis and Butthead laugh]
Fast forward some time. My mom bought me a really cool purse from Kohl’s. It was like, well, a butt. It looked like the butt and crotch of corduroy pants. It had the butt part in the back and a little fake crotch zipper and button in the front. And the purse handle was a belt. SO cute! I carry my purse everywhere. So I really enjoyed having a fun purse. I spend a lot of time with my purse. Why not make it fun?
When that purse died, I was sad. I loved that thing! I went to Kohl’s and searched but couldn’t find a similar one. I think I went to another store, too. No crotch purses. Damnit I miss my fun purse! So I went on amazon.com and searched for “fun purse.”
And what came up right away? A chicken purse. I thought ha!! That’s hilarious. What kind of a person would carry around a chicken. And then a few minutes later, I was still laughing. Whoa! Only $27? Free shipping?? Sold. “Your chicken purse will arrive in 5 to 7 business days.”
It came in the mail and I let it sit in the box in our living room for a month. Ummmm honey, I bought something weird. No, not stripper pole weird. I mean chicken purse weird. “A what?” Exactly that. A chicken purse. It’s a purse, but it’s a chicken. I was embarrassed! I didn’t have the guts to carry it around. Not until a month later. I think we were going to a party at our friend Carrie’s house. She is a lovely person with lovely, non-judgmental friends. A perfect opportunity for my chicken purse’s debut!
So I did it! I brought my purse to a party. Now remember the restaurant by the 8×10? Magerk’s! I immediately thought of that name. I shall name my new pet purse Magerk! And Magerk sounds like a dude’s name, so I refer to my purse as a boy. (Yes, I am fully aware that I sound like a crazy person right now.)
I took Magerk out to his first party. Everyone loved him! He got so many giggles. He sparked SO many conversations. He actually made people happy. I can’t believe I just basically said that my purse brought joy to others, but it’s true.
And then one day I was talking to someone about my purse named Magerk who happens to be a boy, and that person said “Oh I actually have chickens! I can tell from your purse’s features that your chicken is a girl. She’s a hen!”
blink. blink.
Uh oh. Well. I’ve already chosen his name. His name is Magerk. I’ve already established him as a boy. That’s what he identifies with. Soooooo that is how I ended up with a transgender chicken that doubles as a purse, which is named Magerk. I have no chickens. I have no love of chickens (well I do now, I guess!) I don’t collect chicken stuff. I just bought a random crazy thing, and it ended up making people smile. And that’s it! That’s my story! Thanks for reading.
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