Thingama Bobber

There will be no posting on Monday night, due to the Newmentia Science Fair. We don't have as many entries this year as last, which may have something to do with those seven snow days disrupting our research, or which perhaps means that not as many students are jonesin' for bonus points. Last year's crop was a needful bunch. That cafeteria was packed to the rafters with scientific method, by cracky! In fact, we ran about an hour late due to judging issues. This year, we should be out of there in two shakes of a pullet's tail.

Last year was the year of the junkie. Pardon me for pointing out the obvious. A parent sat down at her child's display (in the seat reserved for the displayer) and proceeded to eat cookies and drink punch and bob her head ever-so-close to the tabletop before righting herself again. She was like one of those drinking bird thingamabobs. It only got our attention because, well, she was at the table directly in front of us, and she brought the entire family for supper like it was some kind of all-you-can-eat buffet. I take that back. She didn't bring anyone. The husband carted everybody over to the school. I doubt she could have walked herself there without lapsing unconscious. But that was no reason to bring the Displayer and two siblings and hubby and let them eat 3/4 of the cookies and drink half of the three gallons of punch that we provided for participants. Get it? Participants! Not audience. Not family. Participants!

Nobody wanted to say anything, because the siblings were elementary age, and it was not their fault that their mom and dad didn't feed them and they had to eat cookies and punch for supper. Of course, they should have been sated from their free breakfast and free lunch and free supper during the after-school program. But you know how kids have a hollow leg for a stomach, especially when mom and dad have a hollow head for a heart. ScienceBuddy said out of the side of her mouth, after commenting on which number trip the siblings last made to the cookie plate, of the mother, "Oh, look. The poor thing. She's sick." To which Basementia Buddy, newly arrived from her completed judging duties, replied, "She's higher than a freakin' kite!" Uh huh. Because she calls them as she sees them. That's how she rolls.

We don't expect a repeat performance this year. The Displayer is no longer in attendance. I'm not going to speculate why.