Gimme

Last night my daughter attended a birthday party at one of those Chuck E. Cheese-inspired places that only exist for kids’ birthday parties.

As I was walking around at the end, looking for my daughter, a kid I’d never seen before walked up and asked me for a dollar. He was one of those kids who’s so fat it’s hard to tell his actual age, but since the birthday girl was turning 6, that’s my guess.

“Why should I give you a dollar?” I asked.

“So I can get four more tokens,” he said.

“But why would I give you money? I have to work hard to make money. Why should I give my money to you?”

He stared at me defiantly, still thinking that, because I’m an adult at a kid’s party, I should automatically give him whatever he requested.

I continued: “A dollar is a lot of money, right?”

“No,” he said, smirking. “It’s just a hundred cents.”

“But it’s more money than you have. Right?”

“I have it at home,” he said.

“Well then, next time you’d better remember to bring it.”

The funny thing is, I didn’t even have a dollar to give him. I hadn’t brought any money with me.

Still, I couldn’t let a learning moment like that go by. Unfortunately, neither of us learned anything useful. I went away depressed that at least one obese 6-year-old thinks that adults should give him money anytime he asks. And he probably went away thinking bald-headed men are mean because they don’t give you money when you ask for it, even if it’s just 100 cents.

These kids today …

Tags: Tags: society