Pontius Pilate is IN!

Today Pontius Pilate officially became a member of our household. Paul brought him in the morning before breakfast. I had to admit that Pontius Pilate was a very attractive parrot. He was big, with green, and red wings. At first, he was probably in shock from the new environment, so he stayed very quiet. “See?” said Paul. “He is a quiet and peaceful creature.” I had nothing to say, but I hoped that it would be the case. Pontius Pilate was studying us very carefully, and we were studying him. Mo even stopped moving in her tank, which is her way of being flattering; Maximilian sat next to Paul, trying establish his seniority.

I gave him some food which Paul had brought from the parrot’s previous owner; and everything was looking like a nice family breakfast, until I took some cheese out of the fridge and put it on the table. I was planning to make a nice cheese sandwich for myself.

As I put the cheese on a piece of bread, all of a sudden, Pontius Pilate began screaming with his squeaky, irritating voice “Sarah Palin for Presidente!”

We were in total shock. Maximilian ran to hide under the bed in Paul’s bedroom; Paul was almost hypnotized by the screaming. I also lost my orientation slightly, and the cheese fell on the floor. Pontius Pilate start screaming “Sarah Palin for Presidente” even louder. After I recovered from the initial shock, it was clear that the parrot was demanding something. But what?

Paul and I were obviously concerned about the possibility that Sarah Palin might become the next Presidente. But why “Presidente,” in Spanish? In a minute it became clear to us. It was definitely the bad influence of Pontius Pilate’s previous caretaker, who was a Mexican legal unintellectual servant.

Nevertheless, the situation in the kitchen was evolving rapidly. When Maximilian saw cheese on the floor, he quickly forgot his fears and ran back to the kitchen to grab it. To prevent a possible messy case of diarrhea, I picked it up. When I looked at Pontius Pilate, he was staring at the cheese. It hit me that the parrot wanted cheese!!!!

So I gave him the piece of cheese. He ate it in a second, and before he had the chance to start screaming again, I gave him another one. When Pontius Pilate had eaten all the cheese, he again became peaceful and quiet.

So we solved the first mystery of Pontius Pilate. The parrot simply is a cheese lover! “Sarah Palin for Presidente” was just his magic phrase. It would get him anything he wanted from a member of the Tea Party movement and supporter of Prop 8.