Blue Ribbon Days

Randall and Claire Nathan went to The Elemental Track and Field Day. All the grade schools in Periwinkle County were represented. Their grandson, Johnny, was running the baffles and tossing the cookie.

Running the baffles is sort of like running hurdles, but more interesting to fourth graders. Large cushions suddenly pop up unexpectedly from one side or another and you either have to run through them or around them. The runner must decide which method will slow himher down least. Mrs. Adler, the school psychologist, thought this up, and she observes these races carefully.

Tossing the cookie is a bit like tossing the caber. It is essentially a round, giant-sized cookie sheet. You use a combination javeline throw-shot put motion to propel it over a row of giant foam peanuts. Johnny won first place and received a blue ribbon.

His parents and grand-parents were very proud. They stood and cheered as Johnny accepted his ribbon, on the highest point of the prize podium. They were still cheering as he ran right past them and went to sit down with LamaLou, a girl in his class, to show her the ribbon and recount his historic throw. Johnny knows there's nothing like tossing cookies to impress a girl.

His grandson's blue ribbon reminded Randall of The Blue Ribbon ice cream store. When he was about Johnny's age, his family lived in a hillbilly ghetto in Capitol City. On Sunday evenings, his mother would give Johnny enough money for a quart of ice cream at The Blue Ribbon, 8 blocks away. He would hurry through the streets on the way there, to avoid the bullies, and run even faster on his way home, so that the ice cream would not melt before his mother could cut the block quart into a slice for each member of the family. His speed won him a blue ribbon that he got to eat at the end of the race--not a bad prize for the end of a race. He's thinking he'll suggest to Mrs. Adler that next year, the cookie toss should be a real cookie.