Quite often you hear that it’s the simple things in life that mean the most, flowers for no special reason, a random act of kindness, a call from a long lost friend, Mr. Pinch, hanging from doorknobs, olive fingers… yes, that’s right I said Mr. Pinch, hanging from doorknobs and olive fingers.

There is a rite of passage in the Geden clan that all Geden-related children must go through, and that is the teachings of weird Uncle Nick. Uncle Nick never had children of his own and therefore felt it was his lot in life to insure they grew up with certain unalienable rights, that being a proper introduction to Mr. Pinch, getting dressed in coveralls and being hung on a doorknob, and the joy of olive fingers.

First is the introduction to Mr. Pinch. Now Mr. Pinch has two sides: Good Mr. Pinch and Bad Mr. Pinch. Good Mr. Pinch plays nice and gives you a sweet little pinch that tickles more than hurts. Good Mr. Pinch is fun and always brings about massive giggles. But never far away is Bad Mr. Pinch. Bad Mr. Pinch has a pinch that stings and always gets the slightest ouch or jump. The thing about bad Mr. Pinch is that he always pops up out of the blue often after one is lulled into the security of Good Mr. Pinch. Bad Mr. Pinch also gets his share of giggles because Bad Mr. Pinch has to catch you before he can pinch you. Oh the fun of the chase! Every child must grow up knowing both Good and Bad Mr. Pinch.

Next up is the doorknob hang. Every child needs to have a special pair of dungarees that have a bib in the front and cross straps in the back and when they start getting out of control or overly energetic they simply get hung on a doorknob. Cruel and unusual punishment you say? Every child has begged to be hung on a doorknob and some actually get upset when they are taken down. Some still want it as adults, but that is often after a few too many beers. Just another Geden rite of passage.

The third rite comes later when one can appreciate (or even if they can’t) an olive. Whether green or black, although black is the color of choice, they learn the joys of putting the olives on each of their fingers, waving their hands around with their new found friends and systematically either eating them themselves or having them stolen from their fingers most often by Bad Mr. Pinch. The simple pleasure of having olive fingernails is one that is taken seriously in the Geden family. All children must know that joy, and all must pass them down to their children. It is an unwritten, unspoken hard and fast rule.

And now that we are in the “grand” children, niece, nephew phase I am happy to report that these rites of passage are still going strong. Mr. Pinch, doorknob hanging and olive fingers live on, and oh the unadulterated joy of them all!

Augie and olive fingers…