Cashel’s manners

From August 2004:

I was sitting on the dock, reading one of my toooo many books.

Jean and Cashel were in the water, Cashel had on his goggles, and Jean was lying on “the floatie”.

A game began, and here is how it went:

Jean was speaking in a hoity-toity English accent, about how lovely the day was, how much she adored the blue sky, how it was almost tea-time, and Cashel would sneak up and splash her, or try to upend the floatie, causing GREAT distress in hoity-toity land.

Jean would flail about in the water, spluttering, making random exclamations: “How has this happened … oh my GOODness … Dear ME” as Cashel writhed about in laughter.

The game evolved. Jean became the actual QUEEN of England, and the “floatie” was actually the QEII. Because Cashel is insane, he knows what that is. “You’re on an ocean liner, Auntie Jean – that’s an ocean liner, okay??”

So Jean lay on the deck of the ocean liner, as Queen Elizabeth, musing about the loveliness of her hoity-toity British day, until along came ramrod Cashel, to sink the QEII.

Queen Elizabeth flailed about in the 2-foot-deep water, in her bikini, making random shocked exclamations, and at one point, Queen Elizabeth, clinging to the edge of the floatie, trying to save her own life, stated, “I deCLARE. Where are your manners???”

6 year old Cashel, enormous goggles on his small blonde head, screamed – in utter glee:

“I’M AN AMERICAN! I don’t HAVE any manners!!!!”