Considering it was a pretty day outside and calm winds, I had a brillant idea and thought that I could pull the three hollow headed 7 year olds from the Playstation 2 and the Gameboy SPs (note: this is significant, my boy has the Cobalt Gameboy SP but as the child with the Flame Gameboy SP explained, the Cobalt Gameboy SP does not have as much power because red means more power. My child accepts this at face value.) At the same time I figure I could make my boy a hero amongst his friends. I pulled out his Christmas present, a Tyco X.F.O. (Extreme Flying Object)! Basically its a styrofoam helicopter. The boys reply “we were going outside anyway.”
It takes 4 minutes to charge so friend 1 and friend 2 are outside on the porch, their thumbs never ceased to be pushing keys on the Gameboy SPs. Their eyes never left the screens and my boy was looking over their shoulders. As the XFO became charged my boy and I take it out the the street followed by 2 zombies clicking away on little plastic boxes. My son turns on the propellers and immediately launches from the street up to the height of the power lines. I cringe waiting for the inevitable and the wind shifts sending it towards the trees in our yard and the lines that connect the telephone phone to our house. This flying thing is about 25 to 30 feet in the air and somehow he gets it over the lines and brings it psuedo-gently to the ground where it flops around like a fish out of water as he learns to turn it off. This display actually brings the zombies out of their gameboy stupor for a portion of the flight. After several other exciting flights my son and I rush back to recharge.
During the recharge I ask, “Do you want to let your friends try?” He replies “yes” I say “ok. But the first flight from the recharge is yours.” I say this for a reason and that is the first flight is extra high and extra strong. He immediately offers the first flight to his friend. I respectively intervene and give the first flight to my son and it goes very well. He almost hit the power lines and in maneuvering about the lines he managed to get some exciting action on the flying machine sending in a large, controlled circle. After that flight he allows his neighborhood friend to try (immediately grabbing the Gameboy SP his friend had and losing all interest in the flying machine) and I give him his instructions on safety and how to land. Allow me to remind you that these creatures at 7 years old have removed their brains so the instructions are specific. This child launches the flying machine. It goes up 20-25 feet and exercising great judgement he turns it off at the peak of the flight dropping it straight to the ground shattering one stablizing wing in the process. My boy looks up and says “I don’t want to fly it anymore.”
In a matter of minutes, both Gameboy SPs and 3 children were back in the house near the Playstation 2.
Note: I forgot to include this all important comment on the original post.
