Feeding into the stereotype

I tend to look for things that go against the grain – those exceptions that break the rule. Those interest & amuse me much more than anything smelling of “normal”.

However, this weekend a stereotype was reinforced (again) and I got a huge laugh out of it (again).

I’ve written about this before. The rule is either that testosterone causes blind spots or that estrogen is an automatic homing device.

Last weekend, MusicMan got permission from SportsBoy to allow one of this friends to borrow Rock Band and all it’s instruments. With SB currently addicted to Call of Duty on the Xbox, the Wii is sitting somewhat dormant and Rock Bank in particular has not been touched in months. This is not just a game, but requires several large instruments. A microphone for singing, a guitar & a drum set. This rather large collection had been moved upstairs by me early last year. I put everything small in a designated “Wii controllers & misc items” plastic box and stored them in one of SB’s bedroom closets. The drum set sat in a corner. He took it out to use once or twice but it had not been touched since school started. As MM gathered everything he realized there was a part to the drum set missing. A base pedal like the one pictured at above attached to the bottom of the drum set. MM looked for it, but then gave up because it was late at night. He asked me about it the next day and I told him the last time I saw anything related to the RB set was up in SB’s room so – keep looking. I did dig around a bit downstairs just to make sure it had not been left here, but I was about 100% certain it was in the bedroom. I may have trouble remembering names these days, but my memory of events is still pretty crystal clear!

This weekend, MM renewed the search with SB’s help. I heard all sorts of noise going on up there as drawers were rifled through & doors opened & shut. MM came down frustrated and announced that we must have thrown it out somehow because he had looked EVERYWHERE! I gently reminded him that perhaps guys don’t really look as well as they could and was he sure he looked EVERYWHERE and moved things around and lifted things etc? Oh YES, he insisted. I’m older and I know how to look now and it’s just NOT THERE!

All righty then.

So I promised to spend some time up there Sunday since I do need to continue cleaning out his three closets & bookcase & nightstand to make room for a transition from little boy to teen style room. I started with his dresser to remove old clothes. And right there, in his t-shirt drawer, under just one layer of shirts…was the base pedal! Now, WHY was it in the dresser? I have no clue. He has not clue. I suspect it was the result of one of those days when I had a fit and told him he wasn’t leaving his room until it was cleaned up enough to vacuum. Being a teenage boy, he simply picked up loose items and threw them randomly into available spaces in his closets.

Of course when I found it I said “What the heck? REALLY?!” and held it up to show SB who was in there with me. We just started laughing. I called down to MM – “I found it!” and he replied “No WAY!” as I brought it down to him. When I told him where I found it he said “But, I LOOKED in the dresser!”

Yeah…well…..