Gordon in Cookie Heaven

At the Mallory house, we lived on a corner with a vacant lot next to us. On the other side of the vacant lot lived Gerry & Joyce Henderson and their children. Eventually there were 13, but at the time she only had...let's see...David, Tracy, Ken, Brad, Tiffany, Sabrina, Jared, Summer, Mandy, Tyler...that's ten. Bryce and another boy and another girl came later. The really funny thing is, the Henderson's boy-girl order is identical to David's family's boy-girl order. What are the odds, out of ten kids? (Probably not as amazing as I think.)

The day came when David, the Henderson's oldest boy, got his mission call and in due time they hosted the customary open house, complete with a groaning board of tasty finger food. We took Gordon with us to the party, and when he saw the laden plates of goodies, his eyes lit up and he headed for the table purposefully while I socialized.

I was chagrined a few minutes later to see Gordon carrying a small plate, stacked as full as he could manage with all kinds of treats. I pulled him aside and filled him in on a heretofore neglected part of his education: one takes only a sampling of food--between, say, three and six pieces--at social events such as these. I could not have him to put the already-manhandled goodies back, unfortunately, but I left him in no doubt of what was expected in the future.

Gordon was sad to have made such a social gaffe. But he was glad, I think, that he could keep his treasure trove just this one time.