The Easter Bunny Delivers the Magic 8 Ball

Easter brought summer weather this year.  Instead of searching for warm sweaters and coats, we were scouring for short sleeve shirts and sundresses.  I would have considered wearing a sundress except both my legs and arms haven't seen the sun since Oct; my feet and toenails have seen better days too.

We followed our usual tradition; we went to Easter mass at 11 a.m. and then to the Mattabesett Canoe Club for dinner.  (The restaurant is exactly half way between my aunt's home in Danielson, CT and our home in Beacon Falls; it also serves a delicious Easter brunch overlooking the Connecticut River.)  Our aunt from Delaware, her son, and her four year-old granddaughter also joined us this year.  It was nice to have most of our little family with us for the holiday.

Dinner at the Mattabesett Canoe Club

I think they were trying to do Easter Bunny ears.

My beautiful mom.

The most entertaining part of the holiday, however, was the Easter Bunny's arrival.  He brought 12 plastic eggs for Lewie to find (I think one is still missing), and an Easter basket filled with candy, two gift cards, and toys like the Ja-Ru Glow Saucer Flyer, Zuru Bunch o Balloons self-sealing water balloon set, and you guessed it...The Magic 8 Ball.  

The Magic 8 Ball was the biggest hit.  (It was my favorite toy from the 80's--after Barbie, of course.)  At first Lewie wasn't sure how it worked.  I took it out of the box and told him he needed to ask it a "yes" or "no" question.  "Let me show you," I said.  "Magic 8 Ball...will we have a nice Easter dinner this year?"  I turned the ball over, and viola, the little triangle appeared:  "Signs point to yes."

Immediately, Lewie started asking questions to quiz it.  "Magic 8 Ball, do I like YouTube?"  "Do I have a cousin named Sarah?"  "Will Xbox come out with a new console?"

I had to intervene before the Magic 8 Ball made a wrong answer and would be dubbed a phony.  "Lewie, the Magic 8 Ball makes predictions about the future; it doesn't answer questions you already know."  Here, ask it a question like, "Will I get married?"  The Magic 8 Ball answered, "Yes."

Finally, Lewie was on the right track.  He's asked it questions about whether he will become a video gamer or whether he will have a good day at school.  Everyday since Easter there has been a question, and the Magic 8 Ball has always reliably provided an answer...even if it's "Ask again later."  

"Mommy," he asked on Easter Sunday, "how do you turn the Magic 8 Ball off?"  He had been speaking "into" the ball as if it could hear him and provide a reply.  

"Lewie, the Magic 8 Ball doesn't have a speaker, and it doesn't rely on battery power.  You don't have to turn it off," I replied.

"But then how does it hear me without a battery?  Isn't this like Alexa?"

"Lewie, the Magic 8 Ball runs on magic."

He thought about it for a second, and then said, "Well if Santa and the Easter Bunny are magic, I guess the Magic 8 Ball is magic too."

In the 80's, I liked relying on my Magic 8 Ball to make predictions for me.  Sometimes I think my life would be easier if I just let it continue to make decisions for me.  "Magic 8 Ball, will I live happily-ever-after?"  Answer: "Outlook good."   (Now you know I was going to shake it until I got a good answer...)