I am an African Gray, Timneh, who got very sick, and am now waiting to meet with my family, someday, at Rainbow Bridge. I was 18 years old, and had been with my family, since I was a baby. I learned to talk and make all kinds of noises - including some pretty rude ones. Everybody who ever heard me got some pretty good laughs from the things that just popped out of my mouth. One of my favorite things was Yoga. I could lay on my back for hours!
One day, my Mom found out about a "Cattle Call", for a new TV Show, and before I knew it, I was auditioning for the producers. My Mom was pretty nervous, but I knew that I could make those people laugh. My Mom held me in her hands, and asked me how I felt about the Lakers losing that season. I let out a real loud "Rasberry Sound", and everybody in the room just cracked up. Then, for the Grand Finale, my Mom put me on her face, and I layed on her nose, in my Yoga Position. The producers loved us, and we got a spot on the show! We got to be on the second airing, a few weeks later. The show was called "Primetime Pets", and the hosts were Will Shriner and Dorothy Lucey. The night of the audition, we were on the News, with a few of the other animals who auditioned. The next night, we were on Entertainment Tonight. They showed me, "sitting" on my Mom's face, but left the "Rasberry" part out. You should have seen the look on Leeza Gibbon's face! She was looking at John Tesh, cracking up. When it came time to tape the "Real" show, I was as nervous as my Mom was. We had to wait in the audience, for what seemed to be an eternity. My Mom had her make up done by a professional Make Up Artist (like her), and by the time we were to be taped, the make up was running down her face from the nervous sweat she was in. They quickly fixed her up, and before we knew it, Will Shriner was sitting next to us, and I had to muster up a giant "Rasberry". I made it through that one okay, but, when it came time to "Sit" on my Mom's face, I got scared of Mr. Shriner. I kept falling off, and they were in a hurry to get on to the next animal. Somehow, my Mom managed to relax me, and I was able to stay on her face - yippee!! We got our 15 seconds of fame!! When the show was aired, my Mom got calls from friends - from all over the country. She didn't tell anybody about it, so it was a complete surprise for them to see us on TV.
We had a pretty normal life, until the big Northridge Quake hit. I stopped talking for a long time after that scare! Then, we moved into our new house, and I started talking up a storm again. And, I was getting better at my famous "Rasberries"! I even taught the other birds to do it! You should have heard us - we sounded like the "Bean Scene" in Blazing Saddles. |
