“I Don’t Like Big Bird!”
Halloween Night, 2011
[singlepic id=200 w=320 h=240 float=right]Our neighbor, Dave, is accompanying Sam, Max, and me around the neighborhood to Trick or Treat. We get to the Whitmire house in the side cul-de-sac, where it’s decorated pretty heavily: A pirate skeleton stands in the driveway, two life-size grim reapers stand on either side of the walk-way, a large cauldron is spewing out a thick mist, and there are scary sounds with flickering lights. All the other boys are already at the front door collecting their candy when I realize that Sam is still standing at the end of the driveway. “Hey Sam,” I say, “don’t you want to go get your candy?” He looks up at me and slowly shakes his head no. “Is it too scary?” I ask. He has a very concerned look on his face as he says, “I don’t like that big bird!” I look up at the house, and that’s when I see her; one of the neighborhood moms dressed as Big Bird. Dave and I can’t help but laugh as I try to assure Sam that Big Bird won’t hurt him, but Sam’s not buying it. As Big Bird comes down the driveway holding her baby girl dressed as Elmo, Sam does his best to keep me between him and the strange yellow fowl. No matter how much she tries to make friends with him, Sam wants nothing to do with her. So, we say our good-byes to Big Bird as she heads off down the street with her family. You would think that’s the end of it, but no. Sam is obviously distracted… trying to collect candy while keeping tabs on Big Bird is harder than you think. He always made sure he knew where she was. And as she got further and further ahead, and eventually out of sight, he would continually ask, “Where’s Big Bird?!” No matter how much Dave and I would assure him that Big Bird was gone, it was a constant concern. Then, after Sam asked about the whereabouts of Big Bird for what seemed like the hundredth time, Dave finally said, “Sam, Big Bird is way ahead of us. Don’t worry; she’s probably all the way up at your house!” Oh no! You could see the panic in Sam’s eyes! “Our house?! I don’t want Big Bird at our house!” Way to go, Dave!
“No Sam,” I quickly say, “Big Bird isn’t at our house.”
“I don’t want Big Bird at our house!”
“Don’t worry, Mommy is guarding our house, and she will not let Big Bird in.”
“Daddy, don’t let Big Bird in our house!”
“Don’t worry Sam, I won’t.”
Well, the rest of the night he seemed to forget about Big Bird. After we finished, I went inside to warm up, while Sam and Max stayed outside with Mom to finish handing out candy. Apparently Big Bird came by again, because Sam came inside, and when I asked him if he had fun, his reply was, “I don’t like Big Bird… or Elmo either!”