Things Joey Wanted

So Joey talked a blue streak tonight. He wanted to know if the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier had ever broken. He wanted to know what it was like to look out from the top of a tall building. (We'll have to go to the Hancock or the Sears Tower sometime this summer.) He thought he'd like to live in a downtown condo someday. He wanted to know how old my mom is. He wanted to know if aliens really landed on Earth in spaceships that look like the new top of Soldier Field.

We talked more about aliens. He says he heard something about an alien sighting.

"I saw it on the news," he said.

I teased him about that. "Are you sure it was the news, or was it just Ver Para Creer?"

He wanted to know about driving, if it's hard to drive or easy. We agreed the hardest part of driving is knowing where you're going. He thought it would be fun to have a TV in the car for a driver to look at at stoplights and stop signs. I told him I thought that would be a very bad idea.

We talked about when you can get a driver's license and whether you can get one if you don't have papers. Maybe you can, but I thought you couldn't. There was a bill in the House to let people get licenses regardless of immigration status, but it didn't go anywhere. But Joey thought his brother at least got a learner's permit. Hunh.

Then we talked about GPS systems and how they work, how much they cost. I tried one on my road trip back in November, but I didn't like it talking to me, so I skipped it on the road trips in January.

Joey wanted to know why cops always hang out at Dunkin Donuts. I wonder why they do that, too. Then we talked about how surprisingly fast old fat guys can run if they have to. Joey said his dad can run fast, but it hurts his heart.

"Your dad is like thisclose to having a heart attack. He better not run," I said.

"Yeah."

By then we were at the Subway at 47th and Damen. Joey likes Subway. We went in and ordered the two footlongs for 9.99. Then the guy came out from the back with a big bag of cookies.

"Do you want these?" he asked. "They're too dark. We can't sell them, so I'd have to throw them away." There must have been at least a dozen cookies in there, probably more like 20.

Joey's eyes lit up and he took them. When we got out to the parking lot, he told me,
"You know, I was thinking I wanted some cookies. I was even going to ask you if we could get some."

"You had a genie today," I said. "You got all those cookies and you didn't even have to ask."

We got back to his house and we each took a cookie and gave cookies to his mom, sister and little brother. We all ate them together. Then he and I ate our sandwiches.