Showdown at the Park

GUEST AUTHOR: David (Mr. Mandajuice)

We  took Alex to the park after I got home from work on Friday. I have fond memories of this particular park.  It is about seven or so blocks from where I grew up and I spent many an afternoon with my brother, cousins and friends playing there.

Alex was playing with a 3-1/2 year old boy who was acting a bit aggressive, so I was keeping an eye on them.  More than once the boy became angry and shouted at Alex when he tried to play with the boy's toy dump truck.

So they were under the big kid play structure when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the older boy push Alex, who fell onto his back.  Alex lay there and started crying, "I want mommy!"

I quickly scurried over and arrived at the scene at the same time as the boy's father.  We both knelt down beside our respective spawn, on opposite sides of the raised structure.  The boy's father told his son to apologize - three times - but the boy stood in silent defiance. 

Alex, sensing that his apology, owed and due, would not be forthcoming, suddenly yelled, "NO! Pow!" shooting the boy with his finger.  The boy responded in kind quickly firing from his finger and yelling,  "Pow! Pow!"  Alex responded with a  quick, semi-automatic burst, "Pow! Pow! Pow!"  These were not play shots mind you.  These were shots in anger.   

When the smoke cleared, the boy, whose finger apparently experienced a jam, apologized.  Within two minutes, they resumed play, chasing each other around the play structures for the next 20 minutes.

I walked back to where Amanda was sitting thinking, "He is definitely a boy."

Comments

[Gillian]

LOL Sometimes a guy just has to rely on his trusty finger to bring a varmint to justice. Sometimes he needs a digit-al machine gun.

[R. Robyn]

Great post! I think that little bully got what he deserved.

[Erin]

Welcome, Dave. I love that your name is listed as 'Mr. Mandajuice', somewhat like K-Fed, aka 'Mr.Britney Spears'. :)

Anyways, good to hear from you.

And, always good to know that the boys can work out their differences, if left ot their own devices. As a mom, I would have handled that WAY differently.

[Rootietoot]

Sometimes I think the gun thing is inherent. I have 4 boys, the first 2 we sheltered from guns and yet, they'd pick up an appropriately shaped stick and shoot at each other. So with the 3rd and 4th, we gave in. My husband believes pointing and shouting POW came before actual guns, and guns were invented to explain the behavior.
Alex is definitely a boy. Wait until Genoa is 2 and the distinction will be most defined.

[Grace]

It's so interesting to me still how quickly kids will forgive. But thankfully that other boy's father attended to the situation rather than ignore it (like I've seen MANY a parent do).