Thursday was all-day ride band day at the county fair. $8/kid to ride rides til they puke. Prudence, Oma and the kids met 2 other moms and their kids for lunch at McDonalds. Our kids stayed with the moms and went to the fair while Prudence and Oma left for a follow-up visit with Prudence's surgeon in Champaign. I met up with the families after work. Somewhere along the line the kids discovered the carnies hocking their promises of large stuffed animals, stereo equipment and bicycles. The Boy was sure he would win a bike tonight. The kid behind the counter made it look SOOOOOO easy to stand up the long-neck bottle with the stick, string, and ring at the end. The only questions in his mind were "will Dad give me the $5 to play the game?" and "when he does, how will we get the bicycle home?" At least that how one mom relayed it to me... So after 7 hours of riding almost non-stop, I pulled The Boy aside and walked him thru all the games and explained the point to each and every one of them. It always boiled down to separating him from his money. He would occasionally make eye contact with one of the workers and I would have to explain that we weren't interested. By the end I think he got the jist of it. After we had finished I told him he could have $3 to spend on any one game, and that he should chose one he had he best chance of walking away with something. It came down to 2 games: one where he was guaranteed to "catch" a box with a toy in it (you just didn't know what it would be), and throwing ping pong balls into a table of fish bowls hoping one would land in a bowl. Landing in a bowl with red cotton in it would give the winner a toy. Landing in one with white cotton gave a goldfish - a 10¢ fish that wasn't even guaranteed to be gold. He thought that the fish needed a home, so he'd give that one a try. On his 14 toss, one of the balls landed in a white cotton filled bowl. You should have heard him shout for joy. It was like he'd won the lottery! When Em finished riding the rides, I explained the situation to her. But once she saw The Boy's fish, she had to have one of her own. It took her 20 tries, but she was able to win one, too! I thought we had a fish bowl, rocks, et al, at home from a previous fish adventure with Panda, but I later found out we had given the stuff away to a friend of hers. Now the pressure was on to provide a home for our new fish friends. Two Mason jars worked as makeshift homes overnight. Quite frankly I wondered if we would have them the next morning. Interlude... I once won a fish at the Illinois State Fair. The carney gave me the actual fish and bowl I won it in - filled with water colored blue from food coloring. I won it sometime in the morning but wasn't going to leave the fair until 5pm. Luckily Dad was displaying some farm equipment and I could leave it with him. We changed the water when we got home, but the fish was dead the next day. My guess is he had the "blue lung". Returning to the story... Prudence and I both hoped that if one died, they both would. It would make life between The Boy and Em so much better. But they lived. So one of my errands on Friday was to purchase a fish habitat. $11+ later, plus a couple of shells from our visit to South Padre Island, Nemo and Bubbles now have a humble abode. No filter on the bowl means we - meaning I - have to change the water daily. This has only complicated matters in my mind. Now do I want them to live or die? Then I look at the picture again, and I know the answer...
Prudence Update: She's doing great! Everything is healing wonderfully. Her only issue is that she is still unable to sleep comfortably on her side. The Dr told her that may last another week or so. She alternates sleeping on her back with her legs elevated (she's had some foot swelling from doing too much) and sleeping in the recliner in our living room. This is getting old for her, but knowing its temporary makes it bearable.
She should be cleared to drive on Wednesday. I'm sure she'll want to exercise that freedom - even if it's to the convenient store in town.
Again, thanks to all for the prayers and well wishes!
4 comments:
Well do I remember the days of carnie games and Fish-That-Last-Five-Days. *sigh*
Love your "priceless" list, however, and the picture of the kids. I'm also thrilled to hear that Prudence is doing better. Tell her to hang in there; if she pushes it too much too early it'll just take longer for her to heal (which I'm sure she knows already, but...). Of course I'm a good one to talk, I have an awful time being patient about such things too.
The space looks nice, Dude. And don't worry about the html...it'll all come back to you before you know it.
I started one of these too, but no way I'm giving out the address. I'm so IT ignorant I'm having a terrible time figuring it all out. Hopefully, I'll edumacate myself well enough to get it down.
Sue
All right buddy, I'm getting there on this blogger site. I do have a question. Can I ask here or should I email you? Your call.
Thanks.
Sue
Great news about Prudence! I hope the news is still as good or better!
After my school had a carnival in 1979, they were selling the fish for $.10 apiece. I had a dollar in my pocket and a guppy tank at home. The fish, to my knowledge, are alive today (kidding -- maybe)!
Actually, two died. One went to a High School aquarium and was poisoned along with all of his tankmates. :( The remaining seven were given to my uncle sometime between meeting the pet mice in 1985 and when I moved to Florida in 1989. They were HUGE. So, in a pampered environment, I have no idea what their lifespan is. Enjoy your new pets!
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