Did you see the article in the Indianapolis Star sent over from Associated Press about the lost parrot in Tokyo? The headline caught my attention "Family's lost parrot is no birdbrain". The African grey parrot, named Yosuke flew out of his cage and got lost three weeks ago. He was found on a roof top in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. He was taken to the police station and then to a vet. After a few days at the vet he started talking.

"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura" he told the vet. The parrot also provided his full home address and sang songs to the staff. The police were quoted as saying they checked the address and sure enough there was a Nakamura family living there so they told them they had found Yasuke. He completely ignored the police although they said they tried to be friendly.

After reading that story I started chatting with others and from those conversations learned about the African grey parrot named Alex who was quite famous at Purdue, Harvard and on Animal Planet. He could talk using over a thousand words and logic. He answered questions not just repeating words. He could distinguish shapes, colors, and the matter an item was made of by feeling it with his beak. He died late last year at the age of 31. You can see many videos of him on YouTube. He is fascinating and smart.

I personally had a brief acquaintance with an African grey parrot. You could call it a one night stand. We met in the circumstance of a wedding. His name was Floyd and we slept together in the guest bedroom of the bride's home. He was a bit of a pain because he had so much to say and wanted to talk a lot. He was young and just acquiring his vocabulary. His cage was covered with towels and he soon shut up and went to sleep, but he woke up before I did and started in. The bride was my niece and Floyd belonged to her groom. I found him intriguing. I saw him a few times after that and was often updated about his antics. One day when he was in his late twenties he flew into the bathroom and laid an egg which floored everyone. I guess Floyd was not a proper name. Also late last year, at about the same age as Alex the famous parrot, Floyd suddenly and unexpectedly died. African greys have a life-span of fifty years, so this was a shock. I was told that my niece was devastated and taking it very hard. Her husband couldn't bury him because the ground was frozen and it was painful to them to have to wait until the ground thawed. It made me stop and think of this bird as a pet. I have not owned a bird and can not relate to them. But when I thought about a pet that you can converse with I just couldn't imagine the degree of loss of that companion. Especially if you had raised it from a baby and taught it so much. All pets have personalities but a talking bird must really be unique company.

I've never been to Bird Fever in Castleton but I hear about it on Tuesdays when I get pet supplies delivered to my store. Frequently the driver heads to that store next for delivery. He tells me interesting and fun things about the birds there. I must go. Many, many articles back I wrote about the Broad Ripple pet store that was on Broad Ripple Avenue close to where Starbucks is now. I asked if any of you historians remembered it or the mynah bird that was in there who talked to everyone. I never got a response. I would love to be reminded of that bird's name and the name of the store. Please contact me. Pets make you smile.