Not wanted: verbs

You may have been taught, as I was, that verbs are essential to one's conversation. I have learned from the man who runs my dry cleaners, however, that one is quite able to conduct a conversation with no verbs whatsoever. Our typical exchange when I drop off clothes at his establishment goes something like this:

Him: Hot today, eh?
Me: Hot, yes. But tomorrow, no.
Him: Tomorrow cold?
Me (nodding): Tomorrow cold. Wind. (simulate blowing)
Him: Ahhhh.

As with all newcomers just learning a second language, I am lost whenever the man attempts to speak in longer sentences. One day I wondered why it had been so hot in the store.

Me: Hot here. Why?
Him: (produces a string of words, none of which resembles any words I am familiar with, although I fancy that I hear "management," "crazy," and possibly a more colorful word)
Me: (blank look)
Him (with a longsuffering sigh): Air conditioning dead.
Me (brightening): Ahhh.

Our longest exchange to date came after Easter, when he ventured to ask what I had done to celebrate the holiday.

Him: You...nice Easter?
Me: Yes, thank you.
Him: You...party?
Me: Party?
Him: Party, yes. Eggs...grass.

Here he pantomimed looking for eggs, and gestured in the direction of the church behind the store. I gathered that there had been an Easter egg hunt there.

Me: Oh. No...no party.

He seemed disappointed at this, as if thinking he had finally figured out what the typical American did to celebrate Easter, and here I was claiming to not participate in this tradition. I hastened to clarify.

Me: But big dinner. Food, much.
Him (brightening): Ahhhh.

And so I would like to say a little something to my high school English teachers, who drilled into me the importance of using strong verbs to get my point across: "Verbs. No."