Tuesday 200 - #22
“What do you want to instill into your children?” I asked Paul the other night. It was guys’ night out and we were shooting darts at The Tavern.
“An off switch, for starters,” he said. “Kind of a homo question, ain’t it?”
“I dunno. Saw it last week on some random blog I read.” I pulled my darts out of the board. Excellent grouping, but nothing I needed. “I think that you’d install an off switch, rather than instill one.”
“Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe. What’s the difference, Professor?”
“Well, to instill is to introduce gradually through persistent efforts.”
“Like repeated thrashings?” Paul asked. “Damn, I can’t close 16 for shit.”
I mentioned thrashings didn’t seem all that gradual.
“They are if you go from strap of knotted burlap to a leather belt and then move on to a spiked mace. Another Bud?”
“Sure,” I said. “Medieval weapons. Geez, kinda harsh for a 7-year old, huh?”
“Yeah well, Janet got tetchy about the pepper spray. Besides, I wouldn’t need nothing if the brat had an off switch,” Paul said.
“You’d really hit your kid with a mace?”
“Nah, but it’s good to install some fear.”
“That’d be instill, I think.”
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