Sunday, March 2, 2014

Digging for Shark Teeth

My son had gotten one of those kits where you can excavate for hidden things in a block of plaster.  This particular block of plaster contained shark teeth.  Three of them.  He laid everything out on the kitchen table and began digging. Soon he was covered in fine powder.

"Uh, Bubba," I said.  "Perhaps this idea is not so good, since you're wearing a cast, which is now completely filthy."

Bubba looked at his arm.  Then he looked at me.  "Mama, can you help?"

I knew I'd get suckered into this.  I took the excavating tools and began scraping.  And scraping.  And scraping.  Forty-five minutes later, there was a hole all the way through the block of plaster, but no shark teeth.

"Mama," my son said.  "I think they did this just to stress you out."

I scowled and scraped some more.  Soon the whole thing was a pulverized pile of plaster powder.  Except for five small clumps.

"Did they forget to put the teeth in?" Bubba asked.

I shrugged and picked up one of the clumps.  I scraped it gently, and discovered something.  A tooth?  I scraped a little more.  Sure enough, it was a tiger shark tooth.

"Great, Mama!  Only two  more to find!"

I picked up another small clump.  I scraped away on that one.  And yes - discovered another tooth.

I was on a roll.  Next clump.  I scraped that one and found nothing.

Then I tried another.  No deal.

Last clump.  I scraped, and scraped.  And there it was.  The last tooth!

I cleaned it off and handed it to Bubba. "Dude, that's the last Dr. Cool kit I'm doing!  Next time you want a shark tooth, we're going to a beach in South Carolina to find one!"

 

 

36 comments:

  1. When my kids received gifts like that, I hid them and then threw them in the trash when they weren't looking. I was a mean mom.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Haha! I'd like to do that, but I guess I'm a little soft-hearted when it comes to tossing toys.

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  2. Great detective work, Sherry! You had lots of patience to dig around for all 3 shark teeth. I'm sure Bubba appreciated your efforts.

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    1. An unbelievable amount of patience! I don't think I'd do so well as a archaeologist!

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  3. An arduous effort for your son!

    Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

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  4. Better on a beach than in your leg, I suppose.
    Or a block of plaster.

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    1. A shark tooth in my leg would be a very bad thing, indeed!

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    1. Most of the ones I've done are pretty easy. The hidden things are fairly close to the surface. Somebody with a twisted sense of humor must've embedded those teeth!

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  6. Beach sounds like a much much easier way to go

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  7. You're much more patient than I am!

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  8. I don't remember such toys or kits as a youngster. I would've liked them. I don't think I would enjoy them now, though.

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  9. I would think that the beach would be a more fun place for you to search for shark teeth!!!

    Of course, the plaster block is a sure thing!!

    ~shoes~

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    1. Yes. If you want a shark tooth for sure, get a plaster block, or go to a museum and buy them!

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  10. Beach is the place for this surely.
    Changed blog but still the same person at heart.
    Yvonne.

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    1. I found you! Hope the rainbow brings you luck on your new blog!

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  11. Yikes, those kits sound time-consuming!

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  12. He will look back on this memory someday and smile and tell his children about it :)

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    1. Yes - about how his grouchy mama, covered in plaster powder, nearly destroyed his beloved shark teeth. ;0)

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  13. such fun toys and kits over in your country.

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  14. A little thing like that will be highly remembered...I know you will treasure those little memories.

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  15. What busy work! If I want to see shark teeth, I'll just swim out into the ocean and cut myself.

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    1. Hahaha! I guarantee, you won't live to see shark teeth for long! It'll be a quick peek before they tear you to shreds!

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  16. What? Finding something in its natural habitat? Where is the fun in that when you can buy something encased in plaster????

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  17. Aww...poor Bubba. He wants to excavate for it not to find it there!

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    1. We really thought they forgot to put them in. I'm glad we were wrong!

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