A friend of mine inherited a cockatoo from his grandfather. Grandpa had gotten the bird when he was a young man, and when he died my friend took over care.

These birds live for like 100 years, so it’s a big deal to get one as a pet. This particular cockatoo was a grumpy little thing and only liked grandpa. No one else. It was a hellion after grandpa died.

It happened to be an endangered species, so eventually my friend donated him to the local wildlife sanctuary. He was given a big enclosure and lots of stuff to do.

We went to visit him once, and he was there calling out to visitors. “Come closer, come closer.”

Whenever anyone did, he threw rocks at them, then laughed uproariously. Living his best life.