We were sitting around Tom’s house yesterday morning, enjoying the extra hour afforded us by our own inability to pay attention to when we change the clocks back every year. While we sat around we picked at the remnants of Saturday night’s KFC family feast and listened to Sierra talk about wanting to get Disney annual passes again. Since she and John came down Saturday this had become a common conversation, which in itself is strange because she doesn’t really ask for anything. I guess she’s smart enough to know to save her requests for the biggies.
In a moment that exhibits my incomplete understanding of the power of the teenage will, I told Sierra that if she ate all the green beans in the KFC family-sized side, she could have an annual pass.
Anyone who has spent ANY time around teenagers knows where this is going…
It took her just over five hours (really) to eat the green beans, during which time she tried them paired with Wavy Lays, White Castle burgers, popcorn, coke, and (this makes me want to throw up) hot chocolate, but damn if she didn’t choke them all down. Of course, she’ll probably never touch one again for the rest of her life, but she “earned” her pass. She hated every minute of it, evidenced most clearly when she said she’d rather paint a house for a pass than eat green beans (it’d probably take her less time, too).
So for the third time Tom and I have purchased annual passes. Sierra and John opted to buy seasonal passes, which offers them reduced access for a LOT less money. Every time I get an annual pass I swear I’m going to keep a record of all the stuff we do there, and since I’ve been meaning to start keeping a Detours & Diversions blog for the column I write for The Gabber, AND since I’m trying to get a jump on research for my thesis on Florida tourist attractions (USF Florida Studies), now seems like the perfect time to get going. So here ’tis.
