POP! WHIZ! SNAP!

Niko has a bad habit of insisting on relating stories he couldn't possibly have experienced. For example, the other day as a special treat I bought the boys Jiffy Pop.  As we shook and rattled the pan, Niko said, "Remember the time that Gracie ate the flying kernels?"  Yes, I did. But he didn't.

Our best friends, John and Sabine, were visiting us when we first moved to Oakland, years before the boys were born. We decided to try our hand at Jiffy Pop. Suddenly, as John shook and rattled the pan, popped kernels began to fly out of a small tear in the foil. As they soared out of the pan across the room, Gracie snatched them mid-air like a four-legged Barry Bonds catching fly balls. One after another - POP! WHIZ! SNAP!

The laughter pealing out of Sabine, Kelly and me came to a momentary stop when the rip in the foil allowed some hot oil to ignite an extra bit of the cardboard cover bursting it into flames, and sending even more popcorn flying - more than Gracie or Barry Bonds could catch! Seeing it collect on the floor sent us back into bent-over guffaws. And  we've teased John mercilessly ever since - in the way only best friends can.

I guess I should look at Niko's habit in a slightly different light - he's helping us keep alive the memories of  the type of friendship very few people are lucky enough to really experience.

Besides, popcorn flying, cardboard flaming, Gracie snapping corn midair is really, really funny stuff!