Not all kids are a box of rocks.

Over the years I have been surprised at how sharp some kids are.

Several years ago at a roadside rest area on the turnpike I wandered in and the background music was the Village People singing YMCA.

There were four kids about 15 years old lined up doing the letter thing with their hands along to the song that was released in 1978 which was at least 20 years before they were even born. I laughed like hell.

Sometimes things transcend generations. 

A few months ago a youngster working in a local supermarket was responding to a 'Cleanup in aisle 3' call. It was a broken jar of some substance that might have even been edible. The jar had shattered and spread its contents over about a 2 square foot area.

When he muttered to himself "What idiot did this?" rhetorically I just had to answer. I told him he ought to call Charlie Chan to come and solve this mystery.

The kid smirked and gave me a smug look and said, "It's easier for me to just clean it up because Charlie would bring Number One Son along and turn the whole thing into a big chaotic mess."

I was really surprised with the answer. The First Charlie Chan movie came out in 1926 and the most recent was released in 1981. The kid was sharp! How he knew that was beyond me. 

Then there was the guy about 18ish that held the door for me at a convenience store. I cackled at him "Thank you, Sonny for being so kind to a senior citizen. Your mother should be proud to have raised a son with such good manners."

"Forget it, Pops," he shot back. "You old guys are of afraid of getting a life sentence and I don't feel like getting shanked today."

That one came completely out of nowhere and hit me like a brick in the back of the head and left me practically unable to walk because I was laughing so hard. When I recovered I told him his father must be proud of having raised such a sharp cookie and he grinned broadly.

I think my all time favorite was the teenaged girl that was on her first day of working at McDonald's. It was rush time and they were writing first names on tickets and would call them out when the order was ready. She asked me my first name.

I stood there slack jawed and said, "Well...well I don't have one. I lost it last night in a poker game."

The sweet young girl didn't bat an eyelash. She said, "You can use my middle name until you pay your poker debt off. It's Louise." and wrote it on the ticket.

Sure enough, a few minutes later she called out 'Louise' and when I came forth she handed me my order.

I thought about her for a few minutes and figure the was probably the youngest of seven kids with six older brothers.

While the average kid these days is probably a box of rocks it's a joy to run into a sharp youngster. It give me hope.

That's why I like to cast my bread on the water. Sometimes you get back poached eggs on toast.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY