The Fortune's: Fall in Southern Maryland

Here is my morning conversation with Madison.
Madison is sitting at her desk in the Office: "Dad, DAAAAD!"

I come in from the Kitchen: "Yes M?"

"Can you give me five dollars?"

"Five dollars? What do you need five dollars for?"

"Well, I don't, but Grandma does. She needs to buy some new flip flops. So I need to give her five dollars for flip flops. Or you can give her the five dollars. Can you call her and see what she prefers?"

"Call Grandma? To prefer what?"
This is where she really started talking fast, so I think this what she said: "Call Grandma and ask her if she wants me to give her the five dollars or you, and to see what size flip flop she wears. Also what color does she want? I think brown. Or you don't have to call her. I can do it later. Okay, that's all; you can go now. . . .That's all dad! I have work to do. I very busy."

I just nodded and walked out.

Honestly, it was like Madison was a malfunctioning dicta phone.

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Well, it is definitely autumn in Southern Maryland. The leaves are turning, a cold drizzle blocks any evidence of the sun, and I have an uncontrollable cough that could wake the dead. Last Madison wanted to go apple picking. After hours of searching on the internet, I could not find a single farm in the area that allowed us to pick our own apples. Apparently, people in these neck of the woods like to abuse apple trees. I took Kate and Madison to Bowles Farm, which has a pumkin patch, corn maze, and various children activities.

I will say this about Bowles Farm: it's a lesson in capitalism. When we first arrived, I paid $20 for bracelets for Madison and me. Honestly, charging the same for a 4 year old as an adult seems a little excesive. Can we not have children under 10 be half price? This was after attnedant mistook Madison for being three, and I corrected her on Madison's real age. We will call that a $10 honesty fee. Whatever, I figure $20 was worth the entertainment the farm provided the girls. And they did have fun. Madison went on a train ride, pulled by a tractor, Kate played in a sandbox filled with corn kernels, and both enjoyed the petting zoo. We also went through the giant corn maze.

Yes, Madison, Kate, and I walked this maze. Actually, there are two mazes in this field, and we did the one on the left, up the farmer's leg, around the tractor's wheel, over the bridge, down the plow, and through the numbers around the squiggles to the exit. And yes, about halfway through Kate no longer wanted to be held and Madison was tired of walking. A truly unwise adventure for dad.

Everything went well until, Kate, Madison, and I stumbled into the pumpkin field. As I tried to capture those hallmark moments between Kate and Madison, I did not notice the price for pumpkins. I assumed the farm would charge by the pound for the pumpkins. So when Kate and Madison walked out with two of the smallest pumpkins in the field I thought, "score!" for it might cost $1 or $2. Oh no, the price was a flat $5 per pumpkin, regardless of size. As I looked into my daughters' doe eyes and then to the attendant, who was unchanged by my daughters'pleas, I realized I was about to be taken for a ride. I silently pleaded with the attendant, who never broke her stone face. I hoped goodwill would overcome the attendant and she would reduce the price of these two Charlie Brown size pumpkins, but I had no such luck. She only asked if I wanted to go back to the field to pick out bigger pumpkins. "No Daddy I like this one!"