More Random Snapshots from Colorado

Another reason the Cowboy Brad performance mentioned in the previous post was so entertaining: lots of kiddos in attendance.

It seems many of the children have seen Cowboy Brad before. I’m uncertain as to whether it is easier or more difficult for Cowboy Brad during this particular performance, but the audience continues requesting songs until the very end so he does not need to come up with (or, on the other hand, does not get to choose) any of his own pieces to perform.

With all the children’s requests we get to hear songs about a skunk, a feather bed, and water.

Near the end of the evening, Cowboy Brad picks one little girl, probably about three years old, to sing her request. The small girl speaks so softly that even we, sitting just two rows behind her, cannot hear or understand the song she is asking for. The girl’s mother, either in an attempt to make an actual song title out of her daughter’s request or because she herself has no idea what her child was saying, pronounces that her daughter is saying, “On Top of Old Smokey”.

The little girl will have none of it. This is obviously NOT what she wants to hear. Immediately she states, more clearly and loudly, that she is requesting Cowboy Brad to sing “Don’t Let Kitties Out”.

Without a moment’s hesitation Cowboy Brad responds, “Oh! We all know that one! Let’s see, it has three…no four…verses.” He then proceeds to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, “The Alphabet Song”, and “Baa, Baa Black Sheep” followed by “Don’t let kitties, kitties out; don’t you let those kitties out…” to the same tune.

As an accommodating audience we all join in.

The four-year-old sitting almost right in front of us also provides quite a captivating show. At some point during the event, her mom hands her their digital camera. Watching the world through the screen on the back of the camera is just fascinating! After about five minutes, the girl figures out how to press the button to take a picture and proceeds to take pictures of the ground, the sky, her shoes, her shirt, a rock, and John (whom she is flirting with just a little bit). Most of these pictures are taken either right on top of the object or from a distance of about half an inch.

It is almost as entertaining to watch the girl’s parents reviewing her photography skills after they eventually reclaim the camera. I’m fairly certain most of the pictures were not kept for posterity, but it sure occupied a four-year-old for a good 15 minutes.

It wasn’t all fun and games with the kids, though. One boy, I’m guessing he was about six, must have had his hand in the air after every song for a good twenty minutes, ready with his request for Cowboy Brad. Unfortunately, the hour comes to an end, Cowboy Brad ends the show, and the little boy throws a fit that he did not get his turn to make a song request. The last time I see him, the boy is scrambling out of his mother’s arms and heading up to the CD table and Cowboy Brad, his hand still waving wildly in the air, no doubt ready to tell Cowboy Brad just what he wants him to sing.

One other totally unrelated incident I must share from our week in Colorado: the hairdryer.

While cleaning up breakfast one morning, my sister-in-law rounds the corner from the hallway with a stricken look on her face and announces, “The hairdryer fell into the toilet” followed immediately by, “What do I do?”

To my surprise she is obviously still alive and unharmed. Haven’t you been told all your life that if you drop the hairdryer in water (or even use the hairdryer too close to water) you will suffer a most unpleasant death by shock?

I have.

At least, that’s what I think of every time I dry my hair near a sink or toilet.

The bathroom we’re sharing in Colorado is the size of a matchbox, and with the toilet lid up there is definitely a great chance that a hairdryer that slips out of the hand could end up right in the toilet bowl.

To my relief, I see when I enter the bathroom that my sister-in-law has already boldly and quickly yanked the plug out of the socket. In this case, I’m fairly certain no harm can come from lifting the hairdryer out of the toilet.

This happens to be my mother-in-law’s hairdryer - a travel-sized appliance that she bought recently for a trip to Germany because it converts to two different voltages. Fancy.

Miraculously, after waiting a day for the hairdryer to completely dry out, we try it out just to see if it might still work, and it does!

My mother-in-law says she just might write a glowing review of the item for the company that makes it: dropped in the toilet while turned on and plugged in, but it continues to function!

Maybe all hairdryers are this impervious to water, but I don't recommend trying to find out.