Monsieur Henri, the pathetic clown.
This, my friends, is the newest addition to the Tired House. Believe it or not, this dilapidated old piggy bank was a Christmas gift from my mother in law. She often wraps up things around the house to give as gifts and this year, I’m gonna say we really hit the jack pot. What kid doesn’t like a clown? I mean, they are funny and make us laugh, right? Or are they just plain creepy and give us nightmares?
So the story goes like this. The day after Christmas we went to visit the in-laws and eat our traditional dinner of pizza and chicken fingers. When it was time for the kids to open their gifts, she gathered them around her in a huddle and placed a large, wrapped box directly in front of her. Then, she proceeded to tell them that college is very expensive. Next, she told them that college was very important.
Are you with me? Am I going too fast?
Ok, so after the rah rah speech about going to college, she produced Henri from the box. The children were elated, confused about this dirty, worn out clown. Mother in law explained that it was actually a piggy bank and gave them a crash course in Finance 101 and then passed around ten dollar bills. She also informed us that Henri once belonged to Father in law, which made me relieved that she hadn’t just gotten him at the landfill.
After cramming the too big bills into the tiny slit on the back of his head, the children moved onto their other Christmas gifts and I spent the rest of the afternoon devising a plan for losing Henri.
Alas, here he sits at my desk, just staring at me. And staring. And staring.
I think I will bust him open and go buy some new shoes.
Welcome to the family.
8 Comments
January 13, 2008 at 1:19 am
That little dudle looks like the long lost (and incredibly creepy) eighth dwarf! Make sure you don’t feed him after midnight!
January 13, 2008 at 1:20 am
On second thought, Phil suggests you have him appraised on Antiques Roadshow!
January 13, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Boy, that mother in law of yours is a gem, huh? So what kind of present does she give if she DOESN’T like you?
January 13, 2008 at 2:40 pm
That is one seriously creepy clown!! Got enough money in there to buy me some shoes too?
January 14, 2008 at 12:26 am
i tend to steer clear of clowns. little henri is a bit creepy. the new shoes option sounds much more fun than a college education
January 14, 2008 at 6:43 pm
New shoes are a much better option – let the kiddos figure out how to pay for college themselves. In the very least if you are going to save for them – they need a much bigger piggy bank than that sad little clown – who is just plain creepy anyway.
January 15, 2008 at 3:00 pm
oh…..dear….lord…….
January 17, 2008 at 5:05 pm
OMGoodness, that has got to be the creepiest, pathetic little clown I’ve ever seen! Yikes!
Wow, I just love those little “life lessons” our elders try to teach. She was probably very proud of her demonstration. lol! Sounds like something my mom would do.
Good luck getting rid of him.
D