TheBanyanTree: some days just start out funny

[Cecil]

At 12:52 PM -0500 4/7/03, Julie Anna Teague wrote:
>So, some background to my strange little family, my sons and I:  We have a
>running joke about cheese.  I don't remember how it all started, exactly,
>but the word "cheese" was somewhat humorous to us already, and then came
>the commercial around Christmas time last year that said, "Cheese makes
>good gifts."  Fuel to our cheese fire.
>
>And then we had that one near disasterous dinner at Steak-n-Shake.  There
>were all these signs with cheese slogans.  I can't even think what they
>were now.  Something like "We'll give you new ways to have fun with your
>cheese" and "We'll cut the cheese for you" etc, etc.  In any case, the
>boys got tickled pink, and then red, and then purple, and then bits of
>french fries were reappearing half chewed.  At this point in the day my
>parental patience was exhausted, along with the rest of me, and I didn't
>give a Monterey Jack about anything but eating and getting home.  I was
>irritated and was trying to get them to calm down and eat-for-godssake and
>knock off with the cheese giggles, but this just exascerbated the whole
>situation and we were on a cheddar wheel to hell, rolling downhill fast.
>
>Later, they apologized and I apologized--with a picture postcard of
>cheese.  We ate at Steak-n-Shake once since then and Andy and Seth
>specifically chose seats that did not command a view of the funny cheese
>signs.  Last week, Andy sent me email--a recipe for making cheese he'd
>found by himself on the internet.
>
>So, as I said, we have this history with cheese and just saying cheese
>makes us laugh.  Which brings us to this morning when both boys woke up in
>terrific good moods, which is strange enough for a Monday.  I even
>overheard them diffusing a battle situation between them with no screaming
>and no parental intervention.  Then Andy started singing (he sings all the
>time, and is noted for his impromptu compositions):
>
>         It's a beautiful mo-oo--oorning,
>            and my life is full of CHEESE!
>
>Seth, not typically much of a singer, was in such a good mood that he
>followed on with:
>
>    ....And when those mice come around,
>          you know they're goin' down,
>          cause you know....know........KNOW...... (big finish...)
>          it's my CHEEEEEEEESE!
>
>And I have to say that it warms the cockles of my heart to have these
>silly little insider jokes with my children.  I see our lives together
>stretched out before me.  I picture my sons at thirty-something,
>unwrapping cheese on their birthdays, and all of us, laughing and laughing
>and laughing.  Crazy.
>
>
>Julie

And it warms the cockle burs in my heart to read about you and your boys.

On the subject of cheese - everyone knows that's what you say to get people
to smile for a snapshot. My brother Norm came up with a different word that
resulted in some belly laughs. He held the camera to shoot a group and
instructed them to say SEX. His wife said, "Not now; I've got a headache."

To me the amazing thing about this is that she is almost completely devoid
of a sense of humor.

Cecil