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johnNYmikeNY / Blog

The Morning Frog (see Profile Photo)

Many years ago, when my nephews were Wee'uns, I used to babysit quite a lot; thankfully, the boys' birthdates were spaced far enough apart that I usually only had to sit one ( of the four ) at any one time. Today I was reminded of those times when I happened to look up from the tome I was laboring over to see an old friend appear through the fabric of a lampshade. [see photos included here]. Back then, after we had exhausted my collection of Godzilla and Star Wars VHS movies, and sometimes other films rented during an afternoon raid on Blockbuster Video, inevitably ( or, I should say, FINALLY !) my charge for the weekend would be rocked asleep by the sounds of buildings being crushed and spaceships annihilated, and I could cover him in a warm b'ankey and settle down for the night. The next morning, far too early for any sane person, I would be unceremoniously, sometimes almost brutally roused with a combination of playful torture and affectionate pummeling. On one of these occasions ( I cannot recall which of the Princes Royale was present ) something in the vicinity of the window caught the boy's eye. "Oh, LOOK, Uncle Johnny--there's something there !" he exclaimed as he pointed. Once my bleary eyes had focused, I too saw our visitor, seemingly hanging onto the glass on the outside of the house. "Oh that, that's the, uh, the uh..the Morning Frog." He repeated, "MORNING Frog ??". " Yes," I said with a growing sense of authority," he comes every SUNNY morning to the house where a very WELL-BEHAVED boy is sleeping, um, er..but only when he's sleeping at someone else's house. He's just making certain everything is ok." What I hadn't taken into consideration was that my house lies on an almost perfect East-to-West line..which kept our new friend plastered to the window till the sun went down ! By late afternoon, the little guy snorted, "MORNING frog--yeah, RIGHT !" But we had spent the day together in our usual amount of fun and games, til the monsters and spacemen put us both to sleep. So, on the next morning, rousted as usual by my smiling, laughing small person, he astonished me with " *Mornin', Uncle Johnny" then, slyly, " *Mornin', Morning Frog !". Good Lad.