He has two of them...(A re-post about Bub)
This is yet another story of my son, nicknamed Bub. We were at a local restaurant having dinner one Friday night recently. I must say that people who put those slot machines disguised as "Crane games" are very clever. In this particular restaurant, the crane machine is in the back right before you get to the restrooms. So if you use the facilities here, you have to pass it twice, doubling their chances that you may decide to lose $1, not a quarter, not two quarters, but $1 per try. This particular crane machine has two sides, one has plush toy characters and the other has spiky rubber balls that average at a size a little bigger than a softball.
As anyone who has a 4-year-old knows, he will inevitably have to use the bathroom at least once, which means he will be asking at least twice to have a dollar and play the disguised pachinko machine. Now, fortunately for me, my son is actually not too shabby at these machines. So, back to my story...
Bub states he needs to go to restroom. I take him and he sees the machine. When we come back out, on his second exposure to the machine, he proceeds to ask me for money to use in it. I tell him that I don't have any cash on me (this was not a lie, I don't carry cash generally). He says "Maybe momma has some," and runs back to the table, yelling for his "Momma" all the way from the back of the restaurant to the front. When he finally gets back to the table, my wife, in a surprising move, gives him $4 and says that this is all she has. I was surprised she was letting him have money to gamble with, but she does. "Come on, Daddy." I proceed to follow him back to the other end of the restaurant to try his hand at the Claw. On his first try, he is able to get a yellow ball. Quiet pleased with himself he takes it back to the table with it under his arm, and tells his momma "next time, I am going to get a Christmas Olaf." Much to my surprise again, my wife says "You have 3 more tries, go try again." I had been pleased that he was able to get the ball on the first try and seemed satisfied with only doing it once. I was speechless when she encouraged this little lucky creature to go do it again. So, I followed him back to the machine again. He puts in another dollar and is able to get another ball. Now I am starting to really get my mind blown and speechless as this little boy is defying odds. He then asks me if I would try to get him the Christmas Olaf that is in the machine. I told him I would try and put the third of our 4 tries into the machine. Of course, I do not get anything. Exasperated, my son says "Let me try!" I put in dollar number four and we get nothing. This does not discourage him, he was still very proud of the two balls he was able to obtain from the machine.
Walking back to the table, Bub is strutting with a ball under each arm. As the restaurant began to fill up and get busy, onlookers watched his march with smiles and laughter. Bub was oblivious to the attention he was getting. When we get back to the table, having taken care of the bill, and are preparing to head for home, Bub asks me to put his coat on him. I agreed and told him that he needed to put the balls down so he could get his coat on. Bub holds them out for me to take. Without thinking, out of habit, I took them and placed them between my knees and thighs to free up my hands to help him with his coat.
At this point, I don't know if God gave me some precognition or I had finally gotten over all the shock I had experienced up to this point but like Spider-Man, I sensed something was coming. Something happens when a child begins to say something that will be embarrassing to parents. Their voice somehow becomes strangely magnified. It was as if the universe itself lined up all the acoustics in the restaurant to make him heard from one end to the other. I am sure that even those in the back bathroom stalls probably could have heard him. Bub begins with the following "Daddy? Why did you put those..." Somehow, I sensed exactly what was coming next. He was about to say "Daddy? Why did you put those balls between your legs?" Before he could finish the statement, he was able to get to "those" before I jumped at him, clamped my hand over his mouth and as politely but seriously as I could, I told him not to say another word. He must have sensed the eagerness in my voice, because his eyes showed a grin and as I slowly pulled my hand away he says "...but daddy, why..." to which I cover his mouth again and beg him to please not say anything. At this point he is starting to giggle at me. I look up at my wife and she looks back at me, both of our eyes opened wide. When the silent conversation between us takes place, both of us realizing what he just about shouted to the restaurant, we both begin to laugh, and laugh, and LAUGH. When we look around, everyone at the neighboring tables are looking at us because of how loud we are laughing and can't seem to stop. All of them are looking at us as if to say, "What is wrong with you people?" So in the effort to avoid being embarrassed by our son, we embarrassed ourselves. Bub seemed pretty pleased with himself.
As anyone who has a 4-year-old knows, he will inevitably have to use the bathroom at least once, which means he will be asking at least twice to have a dollar and play the disguised pachinko machine. Now, fortunately for me, my son is actually not too shabby at these machines. So, back to my story...
Bub states he needs to go to restroom. I take him and he sees the machine. When we come back out, on his second exposure to the machine, he proceeds to ask me for money to use in it. I tell him that I don't have any cash on me (this was not a lie, I don't carry cash generally). He says "Maybe momma has some," and runs back to the table, yelling for his "Momma" all the way from the back of the restaurant to the front. When he finally gets back to the table, my wife, in a surprising move, gives him $4 and says that this is all she has. I was surprised she was letting him have money to gamble with, but she does. "Come on, Daddy." I proceed to follow him back to the other end of the restaurant to try his hand at the Claw. On his first try, he is able to get a yellow ball. Quiet pleased with himself he takes it back to the table with it under his arm, and tells his momma "next time, I am going to get a Christmas Olaf." Much to my surprise again, my wife says "You have 3 more tries, go try again." I had been pleased that he was able to get the ball on the first try and seemed satisfied with only doing it once. I was speechless when she encouraged this little lucky creature to go do it again. So, I followed him back to the machine again. He puts in another dollar and is able to get another ball. Now I am starting to really get my mind blown and speechless as this little boy is defying odds. He then asks me if I would try to get him the Christmas Olaf that is in the machine. I told him I would try and put the third of our 4 tries into the machine. Of course, I do not get anything. Exasperated, my son says "Let me try!" I put in dollar number four and we get nothing. This does not discourage him, he was still very proud of the two balls he was able to obtain from the machine.
Walking back to the table, Bub is strutting with a ball under each arm. As the restaurant began to fill up and get busy, onlookers watched his march with smiles and laughter. Bub was oblivious to the attention he was getting. When we get back to the table, having taken care of the bill, and are preparing to head for home, Bub asks me to put his coat on him. I agreed and told him that he needed to put the balls down so he could get his coat on. Bub holds them out for me to take. Without thinking, out of habit, I took them and placed them between my knees and thighs to free up my hands to help him with his coat.
At this point, I don't know if God gave me some precognition or I had finally gotten over all the shock I had experienced up to this point but like Spider-Man, I sensed something was coming. Something happens when a child begins to say something that will be embarrassing to parents. Their voice somehow becomes strangely magnified. It was as if the universe itself lined up all the acoustics in the restaurant to make him heard from one end to the other. I am sure that even those in the back bathroom stalls probably could have heard him. Bub begins with the following "Daddy? Why did you put those..." Somehow, I sensed exactly what was coming next. He was about to say "Daddy? Why did you put those balls between your legs?" Before he could finish the statement, he was able to get to "those" before I jumped at him, clamped my hand over his mouth and as politely but seriously as I could, I told him not to say another word. He must have sensed the eagerness in my voice, because his eyes showed a grin and as I slowly pulled my hand away he says "...but daddy, why..." to which I cover his mouth again and beg him to please not say anything. At this point he is starting to giggle at me. I look up at my wife and she looks back at me, both of our eyes opened wide. When the silent conversation between us takes place, both of us realizing what he just about shouted to the restaurant, we both begin to laugh, and laugh, and LAUGH. When we look around, everyone at the neighboring tables are looking at us because of how loud we are laughing and can't seem to stop. All of them are looking at us as if to say, "What is wrong with you people?" So in the effort to avoid being embarrassed by our son, we embarrassed ourselves. Bub seemed pretty pleased with himself.
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