I Wanna Bite!

When my Brother Billy was about two and a half years old, Daddy and Mother stopped by the A &W Rootbeer Drive-In for a treat after supper one night, way back when the brought those frosty mugs out to the car, no to-go orders.   You had to finish your Rootbeer before leaving.  We’d already had dinner, so we knew we were getting Rootbeer.  A fellow who pulled up next to us ordered a hotdog.  In the heat of the July evening, everyone had their car windows down.  Billy was always ready to eat!  Naturally, when he saw the guy’s hotdog, he wanted one, too. Mother reminded him he’d already eaten and he’d only be getting rootbeer.  As the young man raised his hotdog to chomp down, Billy called out, “I wanna bite!”

Surprised, the fellow looked over to see a small boy on his mother’s lap, leaning out a car window, begging for a bit.  Quickly, he tried to resume his meal.  Again, “I wanna bite!”  It’s really hard to shut a hotdog hungry little kid up, though Mother tried.  I know we would have left if we hadn’t still had Rootbeer to finish and mugs for pickup.  After trying a couple more times to eat despite Billy’s plaintive begging, he cranked his car and left.