Toby Likes Noodles

Apparently, Toby also likes vegetables. Or so he says. But Toby has a habit of just repeating things he hears, so it’s hard to place a lot of stock in what Toby says.

I met Toby this past Saturday evening. Nick, Reny, wee Ryan, Jay and I went to Riverside Park for a picnic and some live jazz. As we were walking through the park, we passed a beautiful garden with a wrought iron fence bordering it, and I thought I heard a voice coming from what sounded like a radio. I turned to look, but didn’t see anything. Reny was actually the first to see the brilliant green parrot perched on the top of the iron fence, but once we zeroed in on him, he ironically had nothing more to say.

Toby’s “mom” was sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the sidewalk and she made introductions. Apparently Toby is only a year and a half old (and since parrots can live for 80 years, acquiring such a youngster is literally a life-long commitment) and he already knows over 40 words and phrases. His first full sentence was “Toby is a good boy, SUCH a good boy!”

I think parrots are fascinating, but with my luck, I’d stub my toe in front of the bird, curse aloud and be stuck with a foul-mouthed fowl friend until I died.