You really never know

There's this kid that sometimes asks Mark for a ride home from school.  It's not that far out of my way and I don't mind.  Besides, he's just odd enough that it brings a certain razzmatazz to my day.

Yesterday, he climbed in and said, "So, I've never really asked you your name.  I think I should know your name."

"Thelma," I said.

"What?!?"  Because my name is almost always a shock to people.  And forget them knowing how to spell it.  That's just crazy talk.  I don't know why, because it's completely phonetic, but it trips people up.

"Thel-ma," Mark said slowly.  He looked at me and mouthed, "Sorry."  I smiled at him, because I don't mind.

"So," said the boy from the back seat, "You should have a Youtube channel."

Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"It goes with your name," he said, by way of explanation.

"Oh, OK," I said.

"Maybe you could do crazy science experiments," he suggested.

"Sure," I said.

Then he asked if we had any relatives with professions that we took advantage of.

"Um," I said.

"You know," he said, "like they work at Disneyland and get you discount tickets?"

I told him I didn't think we had anyone like that.

When he was getting out of the car, he said, "Mark, do you have any siblings?"

"An older brother and sister," Mark said.

"I would love to meet them someday," he said.

I related this tale to Emma when we got home.  She said, "I want to meet you too, weird kid."