Vintonville - The life and times of a guy, his Lady-Friend, a Little Dude and a Little Sis.

Another installment of the ongoing adventures in the lexicon wonderland of Little Dude Vinton.

Little Dude can be a real homebody depending on the day. Some days, “Ok, Pal– get your shoes and coat on” will inspire a rush out to the car. Other days it inspires a collapse and whining protest.  A week or so ago, it was a cautious medium as we tried to spruce up going to –gasp– Wal-Mart. Seeing as how Wal-Mart has toys and fish, I thought the trip could be kind of adventurous, so I embellished in hopes of avoiding floppy drama.

“Ok, Pal– get your shoes and coat on– we’re going to an adventure place!”

“Are you just lying to me to make me happy?“

Little Dude was having a complaint session (which are becoming hair-pullingly commonplace these days) and arguing with his Mama about how “easy” it would be for him to not strap into his car seat and get out of the car.

“Mama, its easy peazy lemon squeezy. That’s how easy it is!“

Sometimes I screen movies in Salt Lake City. Usually it’s me and my pal Andy, but this time he was unable to make it and Lady-Friend got to come instead– which meant Gramma Dunkley would get a chance to come through in the clutch and watch the kids while we hit up the show. Little Sis is kind of a sissy when it comes to strangers, and seeing as how she hadn’t seen Gramma and Grampa Dunkley in a while, was a little nervous. Especially later when Grampa came home. True to form, she pushed out her lip, pulled down a frown and let the sad wail of abandonment fly. Little Dude took it in stride:

“It’s OK, Grampa, she’s just not used to wrinkley old men.”

More after the jump…

Little Dude is obsessed with bones. It’s his passion. Currently, he’s got some antelope bones, deer bones and pig bones (thanks to me ordering some baby back ribs). The grand prize, however, are his real live dinosaur bones.  One night, while complaining that he didn’t have enough bones, I countered: “Dude! You’ve got real live dinosaur bones. Who else can say that?”

“Yeah, but I want dinosaur bones that are brand new!“

I may need to lay off the faux-explectives for a while. While in Colorado, we went to Dinosaur Ridge, a 1.5 mile stretch of road where the cliffside is littered with dinosaur bones and tracks. It’s uphill both ways, so at the end, Little Dude was dragging.

“Come on, Pal! Pick it up!”

“I can’t- I’m too freakin’ tired.“

Little Dude is enchanted by Up. He’s been talking about South America and going there to look for bones for weeks. The other day he was trying to remember a line from the movie and couldn’t, so he asked me what it was.

“I can’t remember, Pal.”

“Aren’t you supposed to have a good brain or what?“

A few days later, he challenged my weak brain again.

“How come when dinosaurs fall down they break?”

Not sure what he was getting at, I answered, “I dunno”.

“I thought you were smart.”

Oh, it was on.

“What do you mean ‘break when they fall down’?”

“I can never find a bone that’s connected!“

If I have my phone handy and Little Dude spouts off a quotable, I’ll quickly type it in. The other night, I was furiously typing as Little Dude was going to bed.

“What are you typing?”

“Just some stuff.”

“Is it to Scientists?”

Trying not to lose concentration, I dismissively gave him an “Uh, sure.”

“Tell the scientists to please why don’t they let Joshua have some of
their bones. Did you type that?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, send it to them.”

During that same conversation, the Little Dude refused to go to sleep, unloading question after question.

“Have scientists found all the dinosaur bones?”

“How come I never find a T-Rex skull?”

“Are yougonna write to the science guys and girls?”

“How many scientists go to South America?”

“I wonder why science loves bones so much?”

“How come they don’t science deer bones?”

After about 20 minutes of persistent questioning with no sign of drowsiness in sight, I had to get firm.

“Joshua it’s time to go to bed.”

“But Papa! I wonder about everything!”

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