No free entertainment bailouts from me!
Posted by rondostar on February 2nd, 2009
Ok. So yesterday we were getting ready to go celebrate my son’s 7th birthday with his friends at a place called Amazing Jakes. We had a pretty solid RSVP list, with about 80% confirmed, “yes”. Cool, definitely within reason financially. Like everyone else these days, we budget for this type of thing. But not just that, it should be understood that only the guest’s invites will reap the benefits laid out in the party’s invite. With that said, let’s move forward with this story.
The Deal
See, part of the deal was that each kid would get a game card that permitted them to do certain things in this indoor-mega-fun park. This place has EVERYTHING – go-karts, bumper cars, laser tag, rock climbing, video games and more. Plus they offered a pretty decent buffet with each card. AYCE baby. There was tiered pricing on these game cards. The more you pay, the more shit you can do. We settled on cards priced at around $20 that, essentially, allowed you to do it all. 8 kids in, we were looking at about $160 for the game cards alone.
Mr. Mom
30 minutes before the party we get a call from one of the parents, a male parent, in fact. We’ll call him Mr. Mom. He confirms, “yes”, that his son will be coming to the party. Then he goes on ranting about how he has his kids for the weekend – blah, blah, blah – and would really like to bring his, other, 4 year old, son too. Ummmm, sure, okay.
The Scene
We do our thing to get the party started. With cards purchased, spot claimed and my son getting anxious, people start to show. The first guest wasn’t the aforementioned Mr. Mom, but a kid who’s mother I will not even begin to describe. Ask me about this women if we ever meet in person. The next guest, however, was Mr. Mom. Yes, and he brought two kids as promised. We gladly welcomed the weekend warrior with smiles and a game card for his oldest son – the invited one, and explained all the goodness it permitted. He couldn’t BELIEVE all you could do with this card (neither could we). He also didn’t know how much it cost us. A few seconds passed and the man was obviously puzzled as to why his other kid hadn’t got his freakin’ card yet. Yeah. After a few minutes passed and all the invited guests had mobilized and headed off to conquer their first mission, he made it quite clear that he was expecting a…
Free Entertainment Bailout
Look, I have no problem with helping someone who asks for help. I also have no problem denying someone who asks. What I do have a problem with is someone who EXPECTS it. Seriously, In This Economy?
Bonus Data On Mr. Mom:
- He did, in fact, end up buying a game card for his younger son.
- His younger son used his game card significantly more that the invited son, as the invited son pretty much cried the entire time and clung to my wife. Quote: (while crying) “This laser tag vest is toooo heavy!!!”
- The party only lasted 1.5 hours. He decided to stay for 3 and utilized the AYCE buffet for, not just lunch, but dinner too.
- He had a T-shirt tucked into his jeans. On a Saturday, no less.
Tags: bailout, freeloaders, handouts, laser tag, Mr. Mom
I imagine that dude sporting a sweet braided belt as well. And maybe, under the right circumstances, a fanny pack.
I think he was actually belt less. Not sure. And there is no doubt in my mind that he has a fanny pack somewhere at home, if not back in the car.