Sydney-the-Rope-Jumping-Sock-Monkey

We lasted almost to Question #3 before we opened the brightly wrapped present from our friend Ruth.  “When you just can’t stand watching anymore, here’s something to get you through the debate tonight,” she said.  She had stopped by the house about an hour beforehand – we were just fixing our tostada dinner – and she stayed only long enough to thrust a Ziploc bag into my hands and give me a cheerful hug.

The little see-through package sat on the table as we ate, tempting me all through dinner.  But we dutifully waited, hoping that this third presidential debate would have some substance and that we wouldn’t get squirmy in our seats.  That, of course was not to be.  Perhaps it was a bit more subdued than last time – at least at first – but my fingers soon itched to see what Ruth had brought us as the Great Distractor.

Christmas Fun

A wind-up toy by the feel of it! A rope jumping sock monkey named Sydney!  All plastic with a perpetual smile on his face and continual bounce in his step, at least when he gets all wound up!  The perfect accompaniment to the rest of last night’s debate!

Leave it to Ruth to know how to diffuse tension and put the emphasis right where it belongs – on the ridiculous!  I wonder if she knows that we have a wind-up toy collection that we get out at Christmas each year.  Sydney-the-Rope-Jumping-Sock-Monkey will be a happy addition.  But… this year we may not wait until Christmas to put them all on display.  We may well need lots of distractions in the days between now and then!