I wrote this over 20 years ago

Last summer, during those dog days of August, our grandson, Nick, who is seven years old, asked if he could come out for a week.  We jumped at the chance to have him to ourselves, to talk to, hug, cook for and all the other things grandparents love to do.  We wondered if we could keep him entertained, however, given our not-so-exciting lifestyle.  The golf course was like a steam bath, the lake the temperature of warm soup and Papa could play only so much chess before  succumbing to his mid-day  golf show on cable.  Then a miracle  happened with the arrival of nine year old Kerri, a neighbor’s granddaughter.  With a toss of her blonde hair and a quick appraisal of the situation she announced, “We’re going to build a pop stand.”  Nick, never one to argue with a determined older woman, especially a cute one,  agreed heartily  that it was a splendid idea.

A jaded adult would look at our cul-de-sac where the arrival of the mailman is an event, and deduce that a pop stand was doomed  to failure.  The minds of children, however, are covered with fine stardust, put there by a golden fairy who has never heard the words bankruptcy,  poor investment or location, location, location.  We adults used to have that dust in our heads, too, but through the  years it has fallen away, leaving room for doubt, pessimism and reality.

Without hesitation  they called on both sets of grandparents to provide construction materials, pop and lemonade.  So much for self sacrifice.   Milk crates became the framework, a couple boards the counter and we added two lawn chairs for the sales staff.  They were now ready for business….not. Deeming a two-product stand incomplete, they helped themselves to an absent neighbor’s pile of pea gravel and added “precious stones” to their merchandise.  They carefully washed, culled and graded for clarity of color until they had perfect little rocks to offer  their unsuspecting public, at only twenty-five cents each.  At that price the pile they came from would top out at over a million dollars…that dust is now working on my head.

Being devout believers in “if  you  build it they will come” they were not surprised they had to wait only a  few minutes until they attracted thirsty workers from a nearby house under construction who stood politely in line while two little kids, with the aid of a calculator, figured out how to deal with  dollar bills.  For half an hour they sold pop as quickly as they could take it out of the cooler. I’m sure the other grandparents bought some of their own soft drinks and Dick and I drank lots of lemonade , at a quarter a glass, while eyeing those “barely precious gems.”  I astutely waited until  they went on sale before I bought several.  You have to get up pretty early to fool a grandmother.

They went out of business soon after lunch, when it became apparent that the construction crew and grandparents   had the capacity for only so much liquid. They netted about four dollars each when everything was  tallied, which is plausible when  one realizes  that  their net was their gross.  They hovered over that money like Scrooge, grinning from ear-to-ear.

It is now another summer, and just as sure as “God Made Little Green Apples”, Nick will come again..can Kerri  be far behind???  They’ve had all year to dream up another money-making scheme. I hope this time around they will  sell neither pop nor pea gravel, BUT if they do I am ready for them, I’ve been saving up quarters.