big progress

After years of disappointingly failing to learn to speak, our witless African grey has a phrase! Today she's been working hard, repeating over and over again in a hoarse, croaky voice, "la la la la" (which we are not counting as a word) and "step up" (which we are claiming as Piggle's First Phrase). This is as though a dog had learned to say "heel": "step up" is the basic parrot command, used when you want your parrot to stop doing whatever the hell it is doing and step onto your hand (or off your hand and onto a perch or another person).

"You must be so proud," said the Sober Husband after his skeptic nature had been overcome. He had assumed we were imagining this through wishful thinking until Piggle croaked "step up" intelligibly at him.

"I wouldn't say proud," I said judiciously. "I'm less ashamed."

"Step up! Step up! Good bird!" said Iris lovingly.

"You're breaking that as a command," the Sober Husband said chidingly. "It's not going to work any more."

"Yes, it will!" Iris and I shouted him down. He left the room quickly, saying on his way out, "Very proud."