The Clunk

~Hey this is Randy

Grandma Benson used a few special phrases. My favorite was "hang a few cats." She used this to mean "Don't overstay your welcome," or "Don't hang around when it's time to go." A typical use would be, "I'm not going to stand here and hang cats all day, let's get on the road!" or "Lois will hang cats for half the night if you don't shut the door."

When I was little, Grandma called me one of two things. The first was "S**t-heels." By the way, this word can actually be found in The Grapes of Wrath and it means someone who shows up and uses your resources but contributes nothing to the group. The second thing Grandma liked to call me was a Clunk. I'm not sure where this one came from, but Grandma used it often, "You're such a Clunk," Grandma would say. Well, I never really got it until now. Seth is a Clunk. I call him that sometimes. And it's true. His head is in the 200 percentile (seriously, he's got a huge noggin) and he falls and clunks it all the time. If you've seen Seth lately, you've probably noticed bruises on his forehead, or at least a scratch on the side. Check it out:

He favors the right side for clunks.
I've thought about it and I think his left hand doesn't catch him as well

Sometimes you don't notice because of those big, brown eyes, but look closely at his right (your left) side.

It's probably the hardwood floor you see in the background.

So you probably think this is the same bruise. Well, technically it is, but Seth actually fell on it again, so it's a little more purple now. He very rarely is free of forehead bruises.

Seth with his rock at Fairy Forest (and a clunk).

Here, he's got matching clunks. There's one on each side.

A couple of Grandma's Clunks.