We had a visitor for the last week, across the 4th of July weekend. He was the 12 year old son of a close friend of my wife. Our guest was unusual for 12 year olds in that he was very quiet, did not complain much, and did basically what he was told. I am advised that this is strange behavior for 12 year olds. In an effort to avoid being the lame and boring place for kids, my wife and I tried to come up with different activities to keep him from being too bored. We were surprised to find how many things we have done in life that this child had never done before. Here is a short list of his new life experiences.
Our 12 year old guest, for the first time in his life
· Chased a cow
· Drove a tractor
· Ate a Snowball
· Watched an inning of baseball at the NC State ball field
· Ate at Buffalo Wild Wings (auto start audio warning)
· Used a can opener
· Cooked scrambled eggs
· Tried out (and really liked) Khan Academy
· Watched Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back
· Read Calvin and Hobbs
· Used an angle grinder at a blacksmith’s shop
· Tried menudo (the Mexican tripe soup) and didn’t like it
· Saw the Governors Mansion
· Saw the prison where the bricks for the Governor’s Mansion were made
· Flew unaccompanied home on the plane
Some of these will turn out to be valuable life skills.
We also went to watch a Durham Bulls game. You know, baseball is a much better sport when you are watching it with a real fan. He’s apparently quite the baseball star at home. He seemed to really like the look of NC State’s baseball field. He allowed that he would be willing to play on that field. So any NC State talent scouts, drop me an email and I’ll put you in touch. He’s got a few years before he’s ready for collegiate play, but he did well in the batting cages. Better than me at least.
He said he had a good time. I hope so. I sure did.
============================================================================= He said he had a good time. I hope so. I sure did.
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Yeah one of the more useful skills in life is to learn that tripe is best eaten ONLY as a last resort!
ReplyDeleteCool post!
@Weer'd: Ordinarily I would agree with you. Menudo, however, is really good stuff. Even if it does have tripe in it.
ReplyDeleteIf he ever decides to run away from home, I know where they'll find him!
ReplyDeleteLMAO Weer'd. Menudo is great when it's done right.
ReplyDeleteI was driving a tractor a LOT when I was 12 — cut, raked AND baled hay. It was as much fun for me as Disneyland was for most other kids. ;-) And I STILL love Calvin & Hobbes.
I would say Buffalo Wild Wings is my favorite wing place, but as of yet it's the only wing place I've been to. At any rate, it's great.
Menudo is good if prepared properly. Was yours the type that has plenty of posole in it?
ReplyDelete@BobG: Mine was the crap that comes out of a can. My wife can't stand the smell (though she likes the flavor, go figure) so she isn't going to cook any. And she'd probably stab me in my sleep if I cooked some and stunk up the house. I like the canned stuff, though. La Costena is great, but Juanita's will do.
ReplyDelete