- Reach Higher
Author Annett Simmons shared the passage below from her book:
“A man walks into a pet store and says, “I want a talking parrot.”
The clerk says, “Yes sir, I have two birds that talk. This large green parrot here is quite a talker.” He taps on the cage, and the bird says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” “It knows the entire Bible by heart. This red one here is young but he’s learning.” He prompts, “Polly want a cracker.” The bird repeats, “Polly want a cracker.”
The man says, “I’ll take the younger one if you can teach me how to make it talk.”
“Sure I can teach you,” says the pet store owner. He sits down with the man and spends hours teaching him how to train the parrot. Then” “he puts the bird in the cage, takes the man’s money, and sends him home to start the training regimen.
After a week, the man comes back into the store very irritated.
“That bird you sold me doesn’t talk.”
“It doesn’t? Did you follow my instructions?” asks the clerk.
“Yep, to the letter,” replies the man.
“Well, maybe that bird is lonely. Tell you what. I’ll sell you this little mirror here and you put it in the cage. That bird will see its reflection and start talking right away.”
The man does as he was told. Three days later, he was back. “I’m thinking of asking for my money back. That bird won’t talk.”
The shop owner ponders a bit and says, “I’ll bet that bird is bored. He needs some toys. Here, take this bell. No charge. Put it in the bird’s cage. It’ll start talking once it has something to do.”
In a week, the man comes back angrier than ever. He storms in carrying a shoebox. “That bird you”“sold me died.” He opens the shoebox, and there is his poor little dead parrot. “I demand my money back.” The shop owner is horrified! “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened. But tell me … did the bird ever even try to talk?”
“Well,” says the man, “it did say one word, right before it died.”
“What did it say?” the clerk inquires. The man replies, “It said: ‘Fo-o-o-o-od.’ ”
Can you believe the Parrot was starving to death? That Parrot needed food the way we need inspiration. I’m inspired by my 4 year old son and his ability to always be in “awwe” when he sees things like orange sunsets and the lake Hefner light house on a crisp fall morning. I’m inspired by friends that reach out periodically to share a bible verse, silly cat video, or story about them skiing for the first time terrified and yet having a blast. Track five on The Still Groovin’ project is called “Reach Higher” and it was inspired by experiences from friends and family. For these reasons, It’s one of my favorite songs on the project. Like food, we all need a daily serving of inspiration and I’m looking forward to sharing music that inspires. Look for my new project titled “Still Groovin’” to release on February 1, 2021. It will be available on all platforms (iTunes, Spotify, YouTube) for download. You’ll also be able to purchase a signed physical CD from my website at http://vearlt.com/album
– Vearl T
