Saturday, pouring rain.

I could’ve gone to Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Levine at the Brattleboro Literary Festival. Instead I brought my toddler to Touch-a-Truck in the hospital parking lot.  

Why? I figured I’d already heard Levine– one of America’s most beloved and esteemed living poets– back when I was in college.  Then I took for granted that I could sit in a beautiful sunlit room full of kindred spirits and brilliant minds, listening to literary masters.

And last week I didn’t get much quality time with C, so instead of jetting off solo to the Lit. Fest I envisioned a fun-filled outing at Touch-a-Truck.  Since babyhood, C. (unlike her sister) has loved tractors, trucks, buses, and the like.  I buttoned up her Froggy raincoat, grabbed some snacks, and off we went.

It was, as promised, a machine-lovers’ paradise.  Five fire engines, a state trooper and a patrol car greeted us at the gate.  Then there were bulldozers, cranes, an electric truck with a cherry picker, a roller, an orange excavator on cat tracks, tractors, school buses, tree service trucks, carpenter’s trucks, Mack trucks and more– all parked and open for climbing and exploration.

Yes, it should have been paradise, but it was TOO LOUD.  Eager kids were up high in the truck cabs, blaring deafening bullhorns.  Sirens were wailing and horns honking at ear-splitting levels.  C. put her hands over her ears and started to cry.  She refused to get out of my arms.  

But I’d paid the $5 entrance fee and was determined to get some positive truck-time out of it.

“Look, we can climb up in this big dump truck!” I said cheerfully.  C. only clung to me harder, wailing.  ”Wow, what about that green tractor?!” I asked.  ”Nooooooo!”

We went up in a Fire Engine cab together, and the hunky young fireman showed me his night-vision goggles and tried to get C. interested in his flashlight.  No luck.  She never cracked a smile.  Another horn blared nearby and she leapt into my arms.

Finally I gave up.  It was time to get a chicken stick (for C) and a Chai (for me) at the Farmers’ Market on our way home.  Lesson learned:  scheduled events for little children can be less fun than you think, and more trouble than they’re worth.

"TOO LOUD!"

Tags:   toddlers · Touch-a-Truck2 Comments