My brother, Kevin, has two lovely daughers, Faith and Zoe. They are temperamental, spirited, and always at odds with one another.
Kevin and I took the girls to the grocery store one Saturday afternoon, where they immediately saw the mylar balloons which seem to populate all checkout aisles these days. The balloons cost $6 each, too expensive for satisfying their cries. Kevin kept trying to appease them, crooning, “You don’t want a balloon,” or “I can’t get that for you right now, sweetie.” As we passed the produce department, I hit upon an idea.
“Well, they only want balloons ‘cos they don’t know about potatoes,” I said, picking up one in my hands and eyeing it lovingly. “Everyone knows potatoes are MUCH COOLER than balloons.”
Kevin, not missing a beat, and recognizing that two potatoes vs. two balloons would save him upwards of twelve dollars, joined me. “Oh, wow, look at this one!” he said, grabbing another. “Ooh!”
The girls fell for it immediately, and started whining, “I want a potato! I want a potato!”
They completely forgot about the balloons, and got one potato each.
When we got home, they continued to play with their potatoes as though they were the best toys in the world. As with all toys, a fight broke out, and Faith was able to grab Zoe’s potato out of her hands. She held them both up, victorious. She was the winner!
Cynthia E. Jones (Sacramento, CA, USA). Check out her photography site.
