Monday, December 24, 2007

repressed childhood memory

I was hanging out with Jenn and her boys a few nights ago when one of them asked me a question... I don't remember exactly what the question was, but it was one that had an obvious answer... not really a rhetorical question, but one more like this: "Eric, is the moon made of cheese?"
Now, that wasn't the question he asked, but it was something that he obviously knew the correct answer to... at that moment a distant, foggy memory came rushing to my brain... and I immediately began laughing.
When Andrea and I were kids and would ask ridiculous questions like this, my mom and dad would say: "what do you think?" and we'd answer the 'obvious' question correctly... at that point my mother and father both would reply: "very good retarded child."
The more I thought about this, the more I laughed... I couldn't believe my parents called us retarded, but I remember laughing about it back then too... but I don't know why I would have thought that to be funny back then as an impressionable, fragile young boy...
Upon further investigation, I asked my dad about this scarring detail in my life... he immediately began to laugh uncontrollably. He told me the 'very good retarded child' line was a punch-line to a joke that he and my mom heard around that time and then just always used it around Andrea and I to make us laugh...
Don't think that my parents would call their children retards... on second thought, that could explain so much...... (:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

okay, quick clarification for the readers.... the children mentioned as eric and andrea in this story had a brother... believe it or not
dude i had it used on me too... dad used it way too much... even out of the context of obvious questions or questions at all... i could make a simple statement and i would get the 'very good retarted child' line... mom eventually got pissed and told dad he couldn't say it anymore and thats why it stopped.

Nick

Q said...

It WAS a punchline in a joke, and it was funny at the time. What is NOT funny is seeing the "P" word used by my youngest, sweetest child. Quit it will you?? You know what that does to me. I love you Nick, I'm trying to call you, take your headset off and listen for your phone.