Champion The Wonder Horse

On Tuesday I took Big A to get a haircut. Every time we get a haircut we have to stop for a ride (or at least to sit) on 'Champion'. Champion is a mechanical horse that sits on the sidewalk outside of Heebie Jeebies in downtown Petaluma.


I put the kids up on Champion (where they are perfectly content to sit WITHOUT putting money in) and this particular day I HAPPENED to have a quarter in my pocket (which I don't usually and any other day, had I actually HAD a quarter in my pocket, I would have preferred to put it in the change jar rather than feeding it to some dumb mechanical horse on a sidewalk somewhere). I put the quarter in the slot and... Nothing happened.

Now keep in mind here that Champion is an antique and there is a sign RIGHT on the money box that says that he doesn't always work but that if he doesn't work, to come inside and the staff at Heebie Jeebies will fix him. But really... Do I want to get two kids down off the horse, drag them inside a shop filled with TONS of things that they want to touch and play with, and then wait for someone to fix Champion all for $0.25???

I stand there wrestling with myself while the kids sit up on Champion as happy as can be. Then I decide (with a guilty conscience of course, because I'm now tampering with an antique...) that I'll stick the corner of my Hallmark Crown Rewards card (the key chain one) into the slot and see if I can push the quarter down.

VIOLA! It works and Champion is up and running with my two children bouncing happily atop.

They laugh, they squeal, they laugh, they squeal, they laugh, they squeal... And it goes on... And on... And on... Until finally, after five minutes of bouncing, they ask to get down.

I get them down and now Champion is there alone... Bouncing... And bouncing... And bouncing...

We walk across the street to the car and Champion keeps bouncing...

We get all buckled in and Champion keeps bouncing...

By now others have stopped to stare as poor old Champion tries endlessly to ride off into the sunset...

But alas... Fifteen minutes after the ride started, Champion finally gave up... And there he sits... Until next time the kids get haircuts...