Staying at home more than usual lately has been educational. I learned that history books didn’t tell the whole story of the invention of airplanes and that there might even be inaccuracies in the Bible about the baptism of Jesus.
Our young granddaughters are out of school and stuck at the house like other kids. We are staying apart because of the social distancing thing, but I try to help keep them entertained.
In our many hours together, one of their favorite pastimes was question and answer sessions. On car rides and breaks from bike riding, ballgames and other activities, I gave them little quizzes on a wide range of subjects.
During nearly all of our visits, one of them would say, “Ask us some questions.” I made them up on the spot, but now we Facetime at night and I have several questions ready for them.
They vary in degree of difficulty. Allie was baffled the first time I asked her the name of the machine that smooths the ice in hockey rinks. She learned that it was a Zamboni and wants the question included in every quiz. She likes knowing that answer.
When I asked the name of the river where Jesus was baptized, there was a brief silence. Charlee, who is just five-years-old and makes up some of her answers, responded, “The Holy Nightwater.”
Questioned about the origin of fajitas, one of them said it was a Greek food. In response to a question about the country most identified with kangaroos, somebody blurted out, “Georgia.”
I asked who invented the airplane, and Allie was excited that she knew the answer. “I read about it in school. It’s Chris Walker,” she replied.
Informed that it was the Wright Brothers, she said, “Then Chris Walker must have been their cousin. I think his name was Chris Walker Wright.” I have googled Chris Walker and can’t find him.
They surprise me with how many questions they can answer that would have mystified me when I was their age. They knew about gravity and demonstrated it by holding a book up and letting it go. “That’s gravity,” they said when it hit the floor.
Demonstrations are big with them. They knew it was static electricity that gives them a little shock when they slide across the sofa and touch something metal.
Charlee disappeared from the screen after that question and came back with every hair on her head sticking straight up. She left again, and the girls turned the I-pad to show her on her hands and knees rubbing her head on the carpet to create static electricity.
When I inquired about whether thunder or lighting came first, they said light travels faster than sound. Allie jumped up and went to the light switch. She told Ava to say “Boom, boom,” when she said go.
She kept switching on the light as Ava was creating booming sounds and then told us with certainty that we could see the light come on before we heard Ava’s thunder noises.
They gave correct answers about how many teeth adults have, what tadpoles become, plants that grow in the desert, what a female deer is called, the first president, who discovered America, the capital of Louisiana, the name of the National Anthem, what the black dot in the middle of the eye is called, who built the ark when the world flooded and dozens more.
Allie loves sports and knew things like Major League Baseball championships are called the World Series and Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy.
But her knowledge of the Olympics is limited. She said this year’s Olympics were scheduled for Katy, Texas. That’s where the Southland Conference basketball championships are played.
When I asked about the largest instruments in marching bands, they could all describe a tuba but couldn’t name it. I told them it was a musical instrument that starts with a T. Charlee said, “Tuitar.”
There was a trick question about whether a pound of rocks or a pound of beans weighs more. Allie asked, “How big are the rocks?”
Regina was planning a trip to the Holy Land before all this and will try to go later. She will probably search for the Holy Nightwater River.
The next time I fly into the Atlanta airport on a plane that Chris Walker invented, I’ll be looking around for kangaroos.
REPRINTED FROM THE NATCHITOCHES TIMES