Sep 21, 2005

eavesdropping at panera

I often go to Panera for the free wi-fi (not to mention the occasional samples of gourmet bread I'll never spend actual money on).

Across from me is a table of five moms. I'm not trying to listen in, but here's what I heard anyway...

"My son got Salmonella... because he dared to kiss a turtle. (laughter among all the moms) We ended up spending over $1200 in antibiotics. It's not like the flu... it's like the flu times twenty and it doesn't go away on it's own."

Turtle Kissing DramatizationThis kid is playing around me right now. Outside of the immediate heebie-jeebies (and the strong desire I have to wash my hands before I leave), I started wondering how much he can even comprehend all of this. How his choice to follow a dare cost his parents so much. (Granted, I have two boys and so I know my day is coming soon... but nonetheless, the question still is valid.)

    Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

    The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "

    "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

    When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:1-7)
Ever wonder how many of your "dares" ended up costing others more than you ever realized?

1 comment:

Tanner Ridge said...

Hmmmm... was salmonilla part of the curse from the original dare? I mean was it really this little boys fault for kissing a turtle after an innocent dare or was it Adam and Eves fault for him getting sick? HEY... I got to comment on this Blog first!