A Big Red Bird
“Puck, you can’t have Captain Crunch and a caramel apple pop. Put something back.”
“But, Mom! My hunger bar’s at one percent!”
It was late in the afternoon. Puck was off school for the day, and we had spent most of it at Grant’s Farm hunting down Fredbird.
I’m the first to admit that doing “mom things” is not my speciality. Running around the Zoo or the park with a stroller and cooler is not how I do life. But for the sake of Yali’s apparent intense interest in Fredbird, I decided I’d give it a go for once. Linnea-Irish joined us.
It was hot. Yali whined most of the way down 270. And by the time we figured out the tram system, I wished I had worn shorts. But the boys enjoyed the ride past buffalo and Texas longhorns, Oreo cows and ostrich.
When we made our landing, Irish offered to buy a camel ride for Puck. He was more impressed with this excursion than I would have expected. He looked like a young prince up there.
But then it was time for Fredbird. Yali was so excited when he saw him at the end of the line. He kept pointing to the Fredbird hat that Irish had loaned him, then to Fredbird, to the hat, then back to Fredbird again. He knew who that bird was. Then of course, as soon as it was his turn for a picture, he let loose with the tears, pushing away the big red bird as if he had suddenly morphed into a monster. When Fredbird offered a high five, the tears ceased. Go figure. For all our trouble, however, Linnea-Irish and I were surprisingly rewarded with four $65 Cards tickets for next week’s game against the Reds. Then I gave Puck three dollars for a snow cone.
Still, I don’t plan on making a habit of these outings.
For movie night, Irish had been assigned snack duty.
“So…” Francis patted his belly when he walked through the door. “Food?”
Irish nodded to the options on the counter and freezer. Francis felt himself in a light state of shock when he realized what had just been offered to him.
“Ice cream and squid and wasabi peas!”
He almost walked right back out the door to get himself something less horrifying.
CARDINALS:
Chicago: 3-8 loss after Matt Holliday gets hit in the helmet.
5 games up on Pittsburgh: 92 and 55; 15 games remaining.
Magic Number: 11.