My line about "dogtags" didn't go over, either...

Mike here. So a couple years back, Meri and I took Nolan to Build-a-Bear for his 4th birthday, and he picked out a new dog named Booster (I think his cousin had a pet frog by that name, something like that). It was a nice little afternoon for just the 3 of us, topped off with a celebratory dinner at Wahoo's, where Nolan and his new pal got to know each other a little bit.



Since then, Nolan's picked up several other Build-a-Somethingorothers which he seemed to bond more firmly with, and Booster kind of faded into second-class citizen status, something I always wondered about. (And for your information: No, I don't wonder at all about my six-year old's continuing devotion to teddy bears; I've got his love of chess and piano playing to fall back on, thank you very much).

So I guess I was surprised when we told the boys today we were taking them back to Build-a-Bear to score an accessory for the companion of their choice, and Nolan immediately picked out Booster for special treatment. Of course, I was even more surprised to learn that, at the tender age of 2, Booster has apparently enlisted and has already been promoted to Sergeant. Sergeant Booster. That's his name now.




Not all that surprising was that my joke about Booster "barking orders at people" was met with totally blank stares all around. Nobody appreciates me around here. And yes, that's the exact same booth at Wahoo's. Good gravy, am I that predictable? Wait, don't answer that.