Lost and

I. Brisbane Valley, California

I. BrIsBane VaLLey, CaLIfornIa Notebook dating to the 1950s that details a budgie’s linguistic development. 3 A WoRDs PhRAses AND seNteNCes a at aren’t 4 B baby Barbara Where’s Barbara? Where’s big Barbara? beer Where’s the beer, Barbara big Look at the big, big, big bird! bird see the bird birdie big birdie boy pretty boy Budgie bad he’s a bad budgie break break the hawk! bank bell ring the bell bite Let’s bite! brat you little brat! Billy Give me a kiss Billy Boy! Butch Where’s Barbra’s Butch bird? butcher from butcher bird 5 C Come come on, come on! cute 6 D–e doin’ What chow doin’big birdie? dear Big, dear Barbara or Brarbra dirty Dirty Pancho don’t why don’t you— dearie doggie drink drink it—drink it! everybody 7 F 8 G go Let’s go! great great big bird get Let’s get up good good budgie gonna gonna kiss the little bird Gallahad sir Gallahad 9 h how how sweet the bird! he’s he’s a bad budgie happy happy bird here come here hot it’s hot! honey Come on, honey. 10 I I’m it’s hot! 11 J just 12 K kiss kiss me, kiss the little bird! know don’t you know— keep gonna keep Butch Kitty 13 L let’s Let’s go little leetle look look at the big bird love don’t you love me? 14 M my that’s my big bird matter What’s the matter? Marge sweet Marge me tell me a story 15 N no oh, no you don’t! 16 o on out watch out oh oh dear! 17 P–Q pretty pretty boy Pancho Dirty pancho people see the people (looking out window) Peaches Where’s peaches? please please talk! 18 R rascal I’m a rascal. real real big budgie ring ring the bell 19 s sweet sweet bird such such a big bird sweetheart see see the bird sleepy sleepy bird sir smart you’re smart sugar said “—said the big bird!” she she loves me silly silly bird supposed You aren’t supposed to— story tell me a story 20 t–u–V that’s that’s my big bird the talk let’s talk—please talk! two two, two three up Let’s get up uh-huh tell tell me a story 21 W–X what what you doin’? where’s whysky Where’s the whysky Delbert? well watch Watch out why why don’t you we here we go wonder wonder what you water 22 Y–Z you why don’t ’chow— you’re you’re smart yes Yes, little bird 23 the stoRY oF MY BuDGIe BuDGIe MeMo When our little feathered darling ran into his green glass and said “Del-b-e-r-t.” Another time he stuck his head in, standing on the rim of his glass, leaned way over and cried,“oh boy!” one nite he surprised me when he said,“Wh-e-r-e’s big Barbara?” he spent all the next day with phrases such as“Where’s Barbara? —Where’s the whysky, Delbert?”—and made a gramatical error, “Where’s the beer Brarbra?”“Come on, come on!” one day when sir Gallahad was a year and a couple months old I had him on my shoulder by the kitchen window when a little humming bird came over to the window sniffling at the fuschia plant. I talked to sir Gallahad about the little humming bird and said“see the little bird?”then I turned to the stove and he piped up,“Yeah, see the little bird, honey?” Another little incident was when it was about 8:30 P.M. and sir Gallahad was a half hour past his bed time. he had been kind of dozing on his gym but at 8:30 he began his constant calling for someone to come to him. every little chip was the rhythm of“Come put me to...