Family Visit

Keisha's cousin, Randy, came for a visit this weekend. He's a nice kid- easy to get along with, very well-mannered, etc. We were watching "Cops" on TV, and Randy become very upset for some reason. He went running down the hall to the guest room, screaming "I can't stand all of this violence!" as he slammed the door. I didn't know what to think, so I looked at Keisha. She was staring at the TV, thinking that she recognized one of the hookers on "Cops". Finally she looked my way and explained that Randy is a little high-strung- always been that way. She said the worse thing we could do would be to cater to his whims. I was advised to just act like nothing happened; to ignore any strange behavior that Randy might exhibit "because he's just so special".

A few minutes later, I heard the bedroom door open and waited for Special Randy to come into the living room. I was determined to follow Keisha's advice. I listened closely, but didn't hear any footsteps in the hallway for the longest time. All of a sudden, I heard it. He wasn't walking, he was galloping. He tromped into the living room dressed as Peter Pan! He had the green tights and the pointy ears and everything! He turned off the TV and started dancing around the room-- hopping into the air, clicking his heels victoriously. ""We've won this battle, Lost Boys! Let's go see if we can rid Neverland of all violence!". He pranced around a little and then skipped to the kitchen. Keisha hadn't seemed to notice a thing. I sat there on the sofa with my mouth wide open. I could understand this kind of behavior if Randy was 8 years old-- but he was in his 30's! No grown man that I know of prances or skips!

By this point, Randy had discovered the garbage can in the kitchen. It was overflowing and Randy had determined that it was evil. He pulled a harmonica from his pocket and played a few notes, summoning the assistance of the imaginary Lost Boys. "Boys, we must rid this house of all of it's garbage. Join me won't you?". He yanked the liner from the can and pranced towards the back door. I stopped him just in time- I didn't want the neighbors to take part in this freak show. I told Randy that I was a Lost Boy and I'd take the garbage out of Neverland for him. He pulled some glitter from his pocket and threw it on me, saying "Fairie dust will help you fly faster, Lost Boy. Think happy thoughts and hurry back."

When I came back to the living room, Randy was posing for Keisha in front of the TV. He had his hands on his hips, his legs pressed together tightly and his feet pointing opposite directions. As I sat, he came out of his pose and faced Keisha-- "Neverland is safe now, Tinkerbell. It's time for me to return to Wendy". He clicked his heals and then flitted back to the guestroom.

Keisha clapped and laughed as he skipped away. "Don't you just looovve him?", she asked.