The not so Secret Ingredient

After the Chinese girls’ team allegedly slipped around some numbers in favor of the ages of their youngest gymnasts, which ultimately landed them a gold medal late Tuesday night, Collette consoled herself with the fact that at least it was better to have freedom than gold medals. Collette was greatly displeased with China’s presentation.
“I’m going to cream China!” Rose declared after she heard that they had not deemed one of their own children “cute enough” to sing at the Opening Ceremony.
On a more enthusiastic note, Michael Phelps had achieved two more world records and two more golds, bringing his all-time medal count to 13 (11 of which were gold). With three more races to go, he was already the most decorated Olympian, the most decorated athlete, it would seem, of all time.
Puck, after playing with two tiny toads the previous afternoon with Linnea, spent Wednesday morning stirring marbles with a red Dairy Queen spoon while the Olympics coverage continued.
Francis and Linnea were working on getting hugs from the chub-chub between math sessions.
Later in the afternoon, Linnea lounged on the love seat.
“I can’t do anything I want to do,” she said mournfully.
“What do you want to do?” Collette asked her.
“Be in the Boy Scouts.”
“What about the Girl Scouts?”
“They can’t do anything cool. All they do is bake cookies.”
“They don’t bake those,” Collette laughed. “They’re made in a factory.”
“See? They can’t even bake their own cookies!”
After fried ham sandwiches for dinner, OLeif returned from music at church, followed by Joe who came to watch more of the Games. Joe busied himself on commercial breaks with the spray gun, shooting down rabid wolf spiders underneath the basement stairs.
“Instant death!” he exclaimed.
The Olympics brought new records and more Chinese golds.
“What are they pumping into those kids over there?” Collette thought to herself.
Totalitarianism.
And Mercy was now 24.