Un-boring the boy

Last night, Sparky wanted e l e c t r o n i c s : TV, games, whatever--just something to fiddle with mentally or physically. He got stuck in a part of "Enter the Matrix" and (give him credit) quit before he got totally frustrated. I didn't really want the TV on, so I started a story. I haven't done that with him in years, and not enough in any case.

So we told each other a story about Juan the turtle, Billy the cat (hello, Berke!), and Buddy the guinea pig. Juan and Billy live in an igloo in Florida made out of fake ice blocks. Buddy escaped from his family near the Great Lakes and got lost. The other two decided to get Buddy back home, even though Billy wanted to eat him and Juan is a moron. They bought bus tickets: it took a long time to earn enough money, even though they only had to come up with the price of one ticket. They boarded the bus with lettuce, carrots, and cat food. There was a St. Bernard on the bus with them, and a girl who was afraid of cats. Buddy got antsy and enticed the St. Bernard into running all over the bus, which meant the dog and its owner had to get off the bus at the next stop. The driver--I've forgotten his name--hated animals. The three of them got thrown off the bus in Kentucky for running around (again) and had to walk the rest of the way to Buddy's family's house. Sparky was quite thrilled that when Billy and Juan returned to Florida they still had jobs. On the other hand, their igloo had melted (presumably in the heat).

He got the giggles several times during this story. I'd recommend this kind of activity to anyone with a bored kid.

Then we watched Mythbusters and he went to bed.