Chipper
 

   Once again I’ll offer you a lesson in “What not to do.”  Many years ago when our Goddaughters Jamie and Kelly were about three or four we went to an amusement park with them and their mom and dad.  We were barely through the gate when Kelly started screaming and crying.  She climbed her mother like a squirrel climbing a tree.  What in the world could be wrong?  She finally calmed down enough to let us know that she was afraid of all the costumed characters walking around.  Have you ever tried to avoid the characters in an amusement park? It ain’t easy but we worked hard at it all day.  Every once in awhile one would get close and the screaming and crying started all over.
   Characters like these on television don’t seem to bother most children but it’s another thing when they see them in person.  Many kids are afraid of Santa Claus and the worst thing a parent can do is to force a child to get close to him.  The same goes for costumed characters.  Having been some of these characters myself I realize that even some adults don’t find it a pleasant experience.  I’m sure they were scared as a child and never really grew out of it.
   Kelly seemed to have an abnormal fear of the costumed characters so I had an idea of just how to solve the problem or so I thought.  I was working for a chip company at the time and we had a costumed character named “Chipper.” He was just a big kid with bright colored clothing and a real big head.  Here was my plan.  I would bring the costume home and pay a visit to Kelly and her family.  Her parents thought this was a great idea to. We figured that she would probably be afraid and cry some and then I would remove the head so that she could see that it was just me and she wouldn’t be afraid any more.
   The moment of truth is at hand as I ring the doorbell dressed as “Chipper.”  Kelly’s mom opens the door to let me in and as soon as I walk in the crying starts and she runs to her daddy’s arms.  I realize that we were intentionally making this child cry but it was for her own good.  Soon she would be smiling.  I slowly removed Chippers head so that she could see that it was just me.  As soon as I removed the head she became hysterical.  I have never heard a child scream so loudly.  Her parents couldn’t calm her down.  It was just getting worse and worse.  I had to leave and quick.  What in the world had gone so terribly wrong.  The answer came as I was headed out the door when we heard her scream “He ate Mr. Carl, He ate Mr. Carl and he knows where we live.”
   I’m happy to say that we finally calmed her down and she didn’t grow up to hate me.  We look back now and laugh at a good idea gone bad.  That was the last anyone ever saw of Chipper.

                                                                            Carl