Old Man Overcomes Skepticism to Win Prizes

We went to Canada's Wonderland (an amusement park) today, because the spouse was lucky enough to get cheap tickets at the last minute from a coworker on Friday. After the kids went on some rides, we played games of chance. There was a hoops game where a number of young men were gathered, trying to shoot baskets for teddy bear prizes, four dollars a shot, two shots for six dollars. My spouse stepped up and I clucked my tongue, "Oh c'mon, you're too old for this." To my surprise, he won five times out of the ten times he played. One win was in the hoop that was 25 feet away - that got him the big bear. The regular hoops (with the rubberized back boards - yeah, "regular") got him the small bears.

Each time after he won a bear, he'd raise his fists in the air, look at me, and shout, "Forty years old!" Okay, whatever. But the fun part was watching all the young guys try after seeing the spouse do his thing. Their friends and dates were looking, and you knew the pressure was on, because the kids and I were standing there awash in bears and the spouse kept crowing, "Forty years old! Forty years old!" as if to say, if an old man can do it, it should be a snap for a much younger dude.

I learned you can knit happily while the kids and spouse are in the lines for roller coasters. This year was the first that the kids were tall enough for the tamer adult rides. I finished making another slice of pizza.


Neat find: these cute wooden bracelets and keychains/backpack-charms in the gift shop. I picked these up for my niece. They're made by a local Toronto company, Buzzy Brands.