Saturday, July 27, 2002

Sat
27
Jul
2002

Cold Turkey

Joe went to a pet store one day and was checking out the parrots when he noticed one that was half price. He asked the pet store owner why it was half price and the man replied, "Oh. That one. He grew up in a foul-mouthed family and all he knows are curse words." "Oh, I'm sure I can train him out of it," thought Joe, and he took the parrot home. Well, sure enough, not five minutes after he brought the parrot home, the bird immediately starts swearing like one of the Osbournes. Joe tried a whole number of tricks to get the bird to stop swearing -- screening Disney movies, playing soft music, offering the bird treats. Nothing worked. He scolded the bird, and the bird got worse. He pleaded with the bird, the bird got worse. Finally, in a moment of desperation, he grabbed the bird, stuck him in the freezer and closed the door. The parrot squawked and screamed for a few seconds, then got absolutely silent. Joe, worried that he might have hurt the bird, opened up the freezer door. The parrot hopped out of the freezer, jumped up onto Joe's arm, and said, "My sincere apologies if I offended you with my language. I will endeavor to reform my vocabulary in the future." Joe was shocked at the change in behavior and couldn't figure out what came over the bird. The parrot then glanced nervously back at the freezer and added, "By the way, what exactly did the turkey do?"