Dj Steckelberg

So, you know when you are talking to someone and you think to yourself “this is like talking to a seven-year-old”? Well be careful throwing that judgment around my friends, you can learn a lot from a seven-year-old. They say you can also learn a lot from a dummy but I bet the conversation will be a lot less confusing.

This weekend my girlfriend, my friend and his son went to the cities for a Twins game and the Mall of America. Oh, and our dog Otis navigated for us. (He’s very good with maps, but that’s another story) My friend’s son is the seven-year-old … just in case you were wondering.

The little tyke goes by the name Tyson-or did, until this weekend, more on that in a moment.

We left Friday a little before 5 p.m. It wasn’t 6 before he asked if we were there yet. Half way to the cities, and many “are we there yet”s later we pull into Pizza Hut at Redwood Falls. Just a little note here: never eat at the Pizza Hut in Redwood Falls. NEVER! Don’t get me wrong. I love serving myself and getting my spaghetti and meatballs in a tinfoil Hungry Man container. It’s the ambiance that bugged me.

After leaving this fine establishment he could not believe we were only half way there. I think he was regretting coming along. About two minutes after we got in the car however he was out cold and we didn’t hear another peep out of him until morning. The dawn of this day brought about an educational experience for all of us.

The first thing we learned floored us all. His powers of insight and observation are astounding! I asked him if he liked roller coasters. He said that he loved them. His dad asked how he could know this given the fact that he had never been on one. He could just tell. Sure enough, later on that day at Camp Snoopy he had a blast on the Rip Saw. Afterwards, he told us that he didn’t like the roller coasters with the loopity-loops. We took this for the gospel.

In the car following the game, I overheard a conversation from the back of the car between him and his dad. He was asking what my “real” name was. His dad informed him that I didn’t have a “real” name, that my parents just named me DJ. He was one of the few people I have met in my life that took that information in stride. Most people refuse to believe that. Some even think I’m lying until I show my driver’s licenses and S.S card. Not Tyson though. And it got him thinking. Soon he announced that since he had a ‘J’ in his middle name, he was now changing his name to T.J. We were all down with this idea. Why not? There is a ‘J’ in his middle name … right in the middle … of Benjamin … sounds like a great idea!

Soon he was talking about “Zoids”. None of us, including the dog had any idea what in the world “Zoids” were. He couldn’t believe how dumb we old people are. After many attempts at explaining it, we deduced that they were some how similar to Mr. Potato Head and or Fisher Price “little people”. We think. In all honesty, none of us could keep up with what he was saying. He actually had to talk down to us. Not the high point of my college career, to say the least.

That night at supper he stumped us all again. He was talking about the Vikings when all of a sudden he said: “I keep hearing people talk about getting their first period. I hear it all the time. I have no idea what they are talking about.”

Did he just ask us about PERIODS? Did he actually bring up one of the least brought up dinner conversations of all time? Did he? At that moment all I wanted to do was laugh out loud. But I couldn’t. I was in such shock that I was paralyzed. When I finally was able to move my eyes I saw that my two companions were in the same state that I was; it seemed to be a mixture of extreme surprise, a sense of utter amusement, and unbridled fear. What could we say? He got us again. Three almost college grads were staring at him in a stupefied daze.

I’m sure he is at school right now telling all his friends just how dumb adults are. Thanks for the fun weekend T.J.

DJ Steckelberg is really a seven-year-old at heart. Enjoy his youthful personality at [email protected].