Daniel had a cool homework assignment this week. The parents had to write a story abotu the child, one about them selves, and one about a grandparent. I thought I’d share…
Cheeseburgers.
The year, 1993. The place, Bracebridge Ontario. The setting, a small cottage town full of tourists and city people trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Ryan has always been a big eater. When he was 15 he would regularly eat through an entire pack of 12 hotdogs for lunch. It was during his summer job working at Bangor lodge that he set his sights on the Guinness book for world records. Ryan heard that the world record for cheeseburger eating was 32 standard McDonalds cheeseburgers. Armed with an empty stomach and 100 dollars, he bravely marched into the local Golden arches. After a brief discussion with the manager, Ryan and he agreed that as a test, Ryan would pay for 10 cheeseburgers, and the restaurant would keep making more for free until Ryan stopped eating. We got through 10. Then ate 15. Then passed the 20 mark. Ryan was so full… 21, then 22, 23 cheese burgers were packed away…. 24, couldn’t go on any more. But only 8 away. 25, 26. Only 6 more. Cant do it. Too full… 27.
Ryan ate 28 cheeseburgers in a sitting. He didn’t hit the mark, but for years after, when he went into that store, he was welcomed with “Hey, aren’t you the cheeseburger guy?”
The Kite:
Daniel learned to walk very quickly. He was 14 months old when he started to run. Mom and Dad wanted to encourage him to spend time outside so we went to the store and bought him a new Kite. Daniel’s eyes widened when he saw his beautiful new shark kite. It was shiny and black, with a long tail, and a special handle to unwind the string. We went to the park. The wind was a nice slow breeze. He was so excited. Daniel had never seen a kite fly before, so we told him that this was going to be very special. We unwound the string, and dad held the kite. Mom was with Daniel and we said 1, 2, 3 Go!
Dad threw the kite up into the air and it crashed spectacularly into the ground. Daniel kept running. The kite was dragging around the grass, and Daniel was laughing and thinking this was an amazing gift. Daniel didn’t know that kites were supposed to go up. Dad knew. The next day dad went and got a kite that worked, and Daniel finally understood how kites were supposed to behave. Mom and dad still remember Daniel’s first experience with kites.
Caught!
It was late in the evening. Ryan was returning to his friend’s house to visit. Unfortunately, 3 in the morning is a time when most people are supposed to be sleeping. Ryan didn’t care, he wanted to see his friend. Ryan was out running in the woods earlier on that day and found a beautiful columbine flower that he dug up and planted for his friend. So he grabbed the ladder and marched over to his friend’s house. He placed the ladder up against the house, and climbed up onto the roof.
Jennifer, like all good teenagers was asleep in her bed. Her mom, however wasn’t. Barb(Daniel’s Grandma) was very energy conscious. She did not like to waste anything. This particular evening, she had all the windows in the house open, letting the cool night breeze through the house. However, as the night drew on, the temperature started to rise. It rose so much that Barb decided to get up and turn the air conditioning on. Barb had closed all the windows in the house except for Jen’s when Ryan appeared at the window. She opened the door to Jen’s room, and saw Ryan sitting there with a plant in hand, on the second story roof.
Jen woke up to her mom, turning on the light, questioning Ryan as to why he was on the roof, at 3 in the morning, while her daughter was sleeping, and why he had this little plant in his hand. Ryan sheepishly climbed down, and went home, Jen went back to bed and Barb returned to her bedroom… All were a little surprised with what that evening had brought.
The next morning, Jen found the plant at her window.
