"Would you like to join the Leaf Rubbing Club?" asked my nine-year-old BFF next door.
"Of course I would! I LOVE leaf rubbing!"
There were no dues, so the club of two got started. She provided the paper and crayons. I got the scissors and away we went to explore the trees in our yards. In no time at all we'd collected a dozen different specimens. Time to rub.
"You know, we have to label all of these," I told Sweet Neighbor Girl.
"Well, I don't know what they are," she said.
Never fear. The Flaming Bore is a graduate of Big Bore's Academy of Tree Identification, which he forces upon me every time we go out for a walk. We got them all done and SNG's mama came outside on the porch to check out the action. I decided to quiz my fellow leaf-rubbing club member to see if she could impress her mom and remember the names of some of the tree donors. She did pretty well at first, breezing through elm, mimosa, and cottonwood. Then came one that stumped her.
"I'll give you a few hints. Two words, initials R-O, and a color is involved."
"Red something?" she asked.
"Yes. Now what's the O stand for?" Surely she would get this.
"Octopus?"
"NO!!!! There is not a Red Octopus tree in your yard!" but we did get an ocean-sized laugh out of her guess.
"Hmmm. Hmmm. Oak?"
"That's better!"
Next time I see her, I'm going to re-ask Sweet Neighbor Girl about the Red Oak, and if she says "octopus" again, I'm going to squeeze my tentacles around her and kick her out of the Leaf Rubbing Club, even if she is the president.
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