Too Much Fun? I Think Not!

Many a fun thing has happened since I've been on the mainland visiting family this holiday season. But one particular recent event sticks out in my mind. . . . okay maybe more than one, but for now one will have to do.

The Scene: 9 pm. Target. One of Derek's favorite places to go. In fact he asks to go there almost daily and most of the time his request is granted. I mean, they have a whole section of things that are just a dollar. This particular story occurs in the clearance toy aisle, which is quite the draw.

The Story: Derek and mom were perusing the discounted ZhuZhu pets and other assorted goodies. I meandered into the next aisle over and saw a basket full of strange, alien-looking balls. They were translucent and made from some kind of hard plastic molded into weird crystalline facets. I picked up a lime-green one and thought to myself what good are these things? Surely they must not bounce very well, being made of such hard plastic and in such a strange other-worldly shape. So I gave it a little test bounce on the floor and OOOH! The thing bounced alright! In fact, it was one of the springiest, bounciest balls I had ever had the pleasure to behold. It seemed almost to be alive as it rebounded with such apparent joy and feeling off the hard concrete floor. I gave it another, harder bounce and was astonished as the thing whizzed past my face and made it nearly halfway to the warehouse-height ceiling. I felt myself smile and giggled out loud in childish rapture. I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Nobody was. And so I amused myself like any self-respecting 24-year-old would and continued to bounce the wondrous thing and laugh to myself. And then I got an idea. And without further thought immediately acted upon that idea and tossed the ball over the top of the aisle into the area where I remembered Derek and Mom being. I listened for a reaction and. . . . . . there was nothing. Not a peep. Disgruntled that my little trick did not go as planned I marched around to see what had happened. . . . . and nearly plowed into a very unamused-looking middle-aged man. In his hand was my green alien bouncy ball. I froze, eyes wide and stammered something like "uhhhhhh sorry?" and speed-walked off down the aisle.

The Lesson: Before launching projectiles into the next aisle, one should first peek around into said aisle to make sure no middle-aged men are in the way.