The zamboni gene

There are some weird things that appear to be passed genetically from parent to child. The inability to close dresser drawers exhibited by Genevieve closely matches a talent exhibited by one of her parents. Earlier today, when I requested that she close a dresser drawer that I had previously asked her to close, she shrugged and tried to get out of it with: "Oh. I can't help it, you know. I get that from (unnamed parent)."

Another weird trait is that both of my daughters correctly (sort of) use the word "zamboni" in a sentence. I don't believe that either of them has seen one in operation. On the rare occasion that I can watch a broadcast hockey game, Zambonis are not shown, so they don't pick it up environmentally in that manner. Our local outdoor skating ponds are hosed and shoveled, but are not manicured by an "ice resurfacer." Therefore, it is clear that my childrens utilization of zamboni was passed down from 10 generations of French-Canadian ancestry, most directly from their paternal grandmaman, and yours truly. (Yes, I know zambonis were not used in New France in 1680--but you can't tell me that my great-to-the ninth grandfather wouldn't have known exactly what to do with it if he had found one).

One day, I arrived home after work and was greeted with this from Reesa, followed by Genevieve:

"We were going to zamboni the house, but we had lunch, and then napped so we didn't."

"Yes, we did, Reesa. Remember, "zamboni the house" means that we cleaned it really well."

Okay, so I have a little work to do, but it's a good start.

Photo credit: Vincent Baas

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I Wanna Drive a Zamboni (Gear Daddies)

Well I went down to the local arena
Asked to see the manager man
He came from his office, said, "Son can I help you?"
I looked at him and said, "Yes you can..."

I want to Drive the Zamboni...hey
I want to Drive the Zamboni...Yes I do!

Now ever since I was young it's been my dream
That I might drive a Zamboni machine
I'd get the ice just as slick as could be
And all the kids would look up to me

I want to drive the Zamboni...hey
I want to drive the Zamboni...Yes I do!

Now the manager said, "Son, I know it looks keen
But that right there is one expensive machine
And I've got Smokey who's been driving for years."
About that time I broke down in tears.

Cause I want to drive the Zamboni...hey
I want to drive the Zamboni...Yes I do!