say hello...

Today is World Parrot Day and also Speak in Complete Sentences Day.  In honor of these two days, my west coast brother has challenged me to teach a parrot to speak in complete sentences.  Now I don't happen to own a parrot but if I did I'd teach it to say "Hello." which, if I remember my high school grammar classes correctly, is a complete sentence.  The fact that I remember any grammar is pretty surprising, considering that it was probably during a grammar class that I made my ultimate career decision.  For the first three years of high school, I debated with myself whether I would be a math teacher or an English teacher.  As far back as I could remember, I had always wanted to be a teacher, and, at 5'10" I considered myself too tall to teach elementary school.  Too much bending over little bitty desks.  I was pretty good at Math and English but, after an abysmal year of chemistry (which I readily admit might have been fascinating in the hands of a different teacher) I took one side step off the academic track my senior year, and took two semesters of art instead.  That was when I decided that teaching art would be way more fun that teaching grammar or calculus.  And I was right.  But back to that parrot.  I don't own a parrot but my next floor neighbor does.  In addition to "Hello" it can also say "Shut the door." and "Feed the dog."  But best of all it can exactly mimic the ringing of her cell phone.  Such a clever bird.