• Home
  • ARCHIVES
  • Design/ Print
    • Print Reorder Form
  • Only good news...online
    • Events Forms
    • Obituaries
    • Only Good News_Archives
  • Advertise
  • Tom Palen Archives
  • About Us
  • Kent Thiesse
  • Darwin Anthony
  • Home
  • ARCHIVES
  • Design/ Print
    • Print Reorder Form
  • Only good news...online
    • Events Forms
    • Obituaries
    • Only Good News_Archives
  • Advertise
  • Tom Palen Archives
  • About Us
  • Kent Thiesse
  • Darwin Anthony
FAIRMONT PHOTO PRESS
  • Home
  • ARCHIVES
  • Design/ Print
    • Print Reorder Form
  • Only good news...online
    • Events Forms
    • Obituaries
    • Only Good News_Archives
  • Advertise
  • Tom Palen Archives
  • About Us
  • Kent Thiesse
  • Darwin Anthony
Picture

    Tom Palen,

     a broadcaster, pilot, writer, and our Guest Columnist!

    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Back to Blog

Snacks and Socks

10/27/2021

 
​Last Friday, I went on a little road trip with my granddaughters in my daughter's car. I picked them up around 2:30 and asked if they had lunch; they said they did. I was craving a flame-broiled burger, "I didn't eat yet, would you two mind if I went through the drive-up at Burger King to get a burger." Both acknowledged that would be fine. "Would you like some French fries as a snack?"
 
Addison, the eight-year-old, said, "No, thank you. We had fries at lunch."
 
Four-year-old Evelyn differed, "Papa, can you get me one French fry?"
 
I laughed, "You only want one French fry?"
 
"Yes, just one, please," she answered. I looked in the rearview mirror; Ev maintained a straight face, but I still felt like I was getting punked.
 
The person at the drive-up would think I was nuts; "Yes, I'd like a Whopper with cheese, one French fry, and a medium, un-sweetened ice tea." With intentions of hedging her prank, I said, "Maybe I'll just get an order of fries and let you have one."
 
I set the sack in the passenger seat next to me and pulled onto the street out of the parking lot. From here, it's like setting a mouse trap; I reached into the bag pulling out one sole fry, then stretched my arm between the front seats into the back. I waited only a moment, then a little hand reached forward and took the bait. Next, I offered another fry to Addison on the other side of the car – she also took the bait.
 
After sending back a second French fry for Ev, I asked Addie if she wanted another. She did. "I'll just give you the box of fries; you guys can eat what you won't – just save a few for me."
 
After a few minutes, Addison confessed, "Papa, I accidentally ate the rest of the French fries."
 
"You accidentally ate them? Did you at least share them with Ev?"
 
Addie explained, "No, Ev only wanted one, so I ate them."
 
"But I gave her two," I replied.
 
"She gave the second one to me," Addie explained, "Then I ate the rest accidentally." I looked in the rearview mirror, they didn't actually 'high-five' each other, but the grins on my darling granddaughter's faces told the story – they got Papa, and they were pretty smitten with that.
 
An hour down the road, Ev presented a sleeve of Ritz crackers. "Papa, can I open these?" I inquired where she got them. "Mom sent them for snacks."
 
"Yes," I replied, then reaching between the seats, "May I have a cracker?" I felt something placed in my open hand; it was a small round cracker with a bite missing. I ate the cracker and reached between the seats. Another small cracker was placed in my hand – this time, about two-thirds were missing. Hmm.
 
I heard Ev wrestling with the wrapper about thirty minutes later, "Papa, would you like a cracker?"
 
"Yes, please," I said, offering my open hand. In the thirty minutes that passed, I had forgotten about the previous crackers provided. I brought my hand forward and in my palm was a morsel of cracker, no bigger than a sunflower seed. Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw Evelyn laughing. She got me again. I ate the crumb, "That was delicious. Thank you!"
 
Ev was laughing, "Do you want another one?"
 
"No thanks, I'm stuffed," I said, rubbing my belly with contentment.
 
I dropped the girls at their destination and drove back to my daughter's house to return her car. "Why are Ev's socks on the dashboard," she asked. I had no idea – it was a mystery to me.
 
A couple of days later, I went to get the girls and bring them home. We had a fun time on the way home playing I Spy With My Little Eye, and I'm Looking For… Traveling with a four and an eight-year-old is never dull. Ev asked me if I wanted a piece of her cookie, but I wasn't hungry and recalled the cracker incident, I declined.
 
"Ev, do you remember giving me a cracker with a bite out of it on the way down?" She started laughing. "And do you remember asking me if I wanted a cracker, then giving me a really small piece?" Both girls started laughing hysterically.
 
"Papa, Ev pranked you," Addie offered, quite proud of her little sister. We all shared a good laugh about that.
 
An hour or so later, it was dark outside when something fell from the sun visor, lightly bumping my head. I turned on the dome light looking for the item but didn't find anything. Maybe one of the girls was messing with me by touching my head. In the rearview mirror, I saw two innocent girls looking intensely at their iPad. It couldn't be them – they couldn't reach me from their car seats.
 
When we got back to my daughter's house, I was helping the girls gather their things from the car. I got Ev out of her car seat, "Where are your socks?" Both girls started laughing but didn't say anything. I found one of Ev's socks on the dashboard; the other was on the front, passenger's side floor.
 
Addison confessed, "Evelyn was bouncing her socks off your head." Ev threw her head back, laughing. The mystery was solved.
 
I laughed with them but then thought to myself, "If this little prankster is Ev at four, what is fourteen-year-old Evelyn going to be like?" I gathered up her socks, "I'm going to have to sharpen my skills!"
0 Comments
Read More



Leave a Reply.

Picture
Contact Us:
Phone: 507.238.9456
e-mail: frontdesk@fairmontphotopress.com
Photo Press | 112 E. First Street
| 
P.O. Box 973 | Fairmont, MN 56031



Office Hours: 
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
​

Proudly powered by Weebly