Have you won anything yet? It’s that time of year all across Canada! I bought a coffee the other day and…rolled up the rim! My 11-year-old son, Justice, was with me at the time. I think our dadly duty is to let our kids roll up those rims. Justice was keen to start rolling. Such mystery. Such intrigue! Such excitement…unless those heart-breaking words appear, “Please play again”.
Justice would not be forlorn because he knew there were many more rims to be rolled. He went to watch his cousins play hockey at the nice, big community center the other day. One of the cousins, Eagle-Eye, spotted an un-rolled rim in a garbage can. Eagle-Eye was unable to resist the temptation of an unrolled rim and quickly snatched the cup from its resting place. Did he care that someone else’s lips had been all over that rim? No way! Let the rolling begin! He tore off the lid, threw it back in the trash and began to unroll the slimy, cream-coloured paper. This free bonus roll would open up a whole new world of opportunity to the small gang of cousins gathered at the arena that day. Eagle-Eye hit the jackpot with that wonderful phrase in both English and French proclaiming to the world, “WIN/GAGNEZ | COFFEE/CAFE”. The cousins celebrated.
Suddenly it hit them. If Eagle-Eye found one unrolled rim abandoned in the trash, how many other orphaned rims were lying forgotten and discarded around the arena? The opportunities were endless. Without asking for permission or advice from their parents the gang scattered at a frenzied pace targeting every trash can in sight. At one point Eagle-Eye said something like, “The one tough thing about this mission is trying hard not to be embarrassed by people watching you.” He later found a secret room at the community center and suggested that the gang drag the garbage cans into the secret room before scouring them for unrolled rims. I don’t believe this part of the plan ever materialized.
The rest of the search yielded no more results but a few days later the cousins were to meet up again when they visited Grandpa in the hospital. Their luck was about to change. A volunteer had brought cartons of free coffee to the hospital that afternoon and the garbage bins were overflowing with unrolled rims! The gang strategically searched each floor of the hospital, the lobbies, and even the parking lot for the treasure of all treasures, free coffee and donuts (and maybe a vehicle, cash or an ATV!) Eagle-Eye and the crew all walked away with prizes that day as they scooped up five free coffees, a free donut and a bonus McDonald’s peel sticker to scan for prizes. No cousins in the search party left empty-handed!
When the kids came and told us of their winnings we were happy for them…and somewhat concerned. I commented to another dad that I wasn’t sure hospital trash was the best thing to search through. Then I realized the gang had helped themselves to the free latex gloves in the boxes on walls all over the hospital. Safety first, I guess.
Dad, I hope you get some winnings from your rims this year and I hope you don’t have to search through the trash to do it. Time flies! Make every moment count! Especially the unrolling ones!
Jason Weening sometimes buys hot drinks for his 10 kids and one wife. Buy his new book about the injuries and adventures of dadhood at HEYDADS.ca.