GETTING PHILOSOPHICAL

It never ceases to amaze me what little kids get all excited about. Last weekend we laid down four new concrete pavers in the well-worn spot by our garage that leads to the neighbor's place.

Well, you would have thought a circus had come to town, as much fun as Trouble #1 and #2 were having by running and skipping on them. I don't get it.

Then yesterday Sweet Neighbor Girl was cleaning out a garden spot in her yard, under my supervision, and the two Troubles just had to horn in and "help." But did they want to pull weeds or pick up leaves by hand? Oh, no. They needed tools. It's a desire that must be bred into all males. They gotta have tools and the more the better.

And they don't like to share tools. I'd brought over a small pair of clippers that were laying on the ground, and both boys honed in on them at the same time. Trouble #1, being older and bigger, got to them first and REAL trouble soon brewed.

"It's my turn," for the clippers, #2 whined. And whined. And whined. And whined some more until he poutingly announced he was going home--at which point #1 turned over the clippers to him and then dashed to our garage to retrieve the big yellow plastic leaf scooper-uppers that are TONS more fun than clippers. So you can guess what happened. #2 thought those scoopers looked much more interesting than the clippers. The whining started up all over again.

"If you guys can't work this out and share nicely then I'm taking all my tools back!" I barked with authority. I'd show them. ---So they shared and soon decided there were just too many leaves and weeds to remove in one day. End of work session. Time to hop on the Hot Wheels and bicycle and move on down the road. If there's one thing little boys like even better than tools, it's wheels.

When I went inside, I saw that Big Bore had been watching all of this action evolve through a bedroom window.

"I don't know how you can tolerate those kids," he said, in his usual curmudgeonly tone.

"Yeah, like you were never the pain in the ass of your neighborhood when you were little. Right?"

"No comment," he laughed. "Sometimes I think Karma has come back to bite me."

In big chunks.