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Our neighbor is a retired school teacher named Mr. Mac. His actual name is something like "P.R. McDonald", but everyone just calls him Mac, to the point where the local paper even calls him Mac McDonald when he's mentioned. My husband was a former math student of his in grade school, and remembers him very fondly.
Since all of Mr. Mac's grandchildren live in another state, he has set out to woo my children, and done it very effectively, by bribing them with Dum-Dum suckers. It has reached the point where Mim sees Mr. Mac, and forsaking all others, runs to him with arms outstretched yelling "Mika Mac gots suckas?!?!" Of course he always gives both kids two or three, so we've got a steady supply here. Mr. Mac is the only man I have ever seen Mim run too, excluding her father. Even her grandpas don't have the kind of power that our neighbor does. It's amazing what a good bribe will do. She says, "Mika Mac bewwy nice man." You'd have to hear the inflection to pick up all the adoring vibes.
Mim and Zaya both chew their suckers to pieces within minutes, so I had to hurry to catch a picture of Mim still in possession of her sucker stick. She had just finished, so I told her to put the stick back in her mouth and she got the wrong end. Another couple of interesting things about this picture: That basket you see next to her is our shoe basket. When the kids come in, the shoes go in the basket (especially in the summer). The blue door was painted right before my wedding back in 2000. I'm not sure why my mother used blue. I don't think it was chosen with malice aforethought. She just used what she had or found on sale. I'm sure she'll set me straight in comments.
(Mr. Mac also occasionally mows our yard, but that's another kettle of fish, which I am not prepared to fry up at this time.)
8 comments:
Well, there WAS just a quart of it, and it WAS expensive paint(originally that is, before it wound up in the sail for leftovers basket)...and the house WAS drearily plain without it.
I have to admit I never dreamed you would buy the house and live there later...or that you would purchase a roof of the exact same shade of blue...almost as if you liked the color. ah ha!
I just have to point out, mom, that you used sail instead of sale. I think you've got ypp on the brain.
There. That's for my entire childhood living with a grammarian.
No ypp tonight...just fatigue. I came rushing in after school and grocery shopping and took the time to read your blog and rid you of the terrible "0 comment" curse before rushing out to three hours of play practice. Now I'll be rushing off to bed. The "sail" was only a wish. Sigh.
I think its a nice color, what is wrong with a blue door? I actually painted my door at my last house we owned that color, on the outside of the house.
Must be the week for posting sucker photos!
"Mika Mac gots suckas?!?!" Love it. Hilarious.
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/
http://www.mikeleonen.com/
Well, I think the photo is darling, amd Mim looks great no matter which end of the sucker is in her mouth! As for the grammar girls...you and your mom are a hoot! I hate to think of the cringing done by the two of you when my blogs are read.
Dum dums have worked for banks all over the country for decades.
I always loved guys like Mr. Mac too. I have ZERO appeal for kids, they tend to bury their face in their mother's side when I speak to them, so I envy Mr. Mac's way with them.
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