Are you serious ?
(You've shared other stories of your father, and he could be quite the performer,... so I wouldn't put this past him to be so flamboyant to have a gimick parrot ! )
I think I see where you get some of your joker manifest -- from your father ! uh huh !
I thank Eric for bringing up the subject of the parrot. One thing leads to another and now we started talking about parents. I believe we are brought into karmic situations that are helpful for spiritual growth. We may not seem to think so in the beginning of our lives but as time goes on we begin to understand why we choose the parents we've had; to fulfilll certain desires and to learn lessons in life. They often have some of the same abilities and talents as we do so that we can continue to develop ours.
He (my father) used to give 'Bob' gum. You should have seen the expression on his face as his jaws moved side to side he would tilt his head as if to say.: Not sure about this. Yes he really did have such a parrot. Think if he was taught to say. Ooom Guru and God Christ Gurus all day.
He might have been enlightened and thought of as God coming back as a parrot to remind us to practice the presence and not parrot the words!
Thanks Namaste2All. Perhaps one of the reasons I had him as a father was to teach me to take life lighter and have a sense of humor about it. What about the rest of you and your parents?
Steve