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"Dressed to the (Ca)Nines" (a true story)
7 years ago
General
On June 8, 2018, my niece Corynne had given birth to a healthy baby boy. (See my previous journal, "This Just In: I'm A Grand-Uncle!" - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8762234/ .)
My brother Glenn and I took it upon ourselves to buy special presents for the newborn (as well as for the first-time mother), and 'snail-mail' them from Margate, Florida to East Rockaway, New York.
It was around that same time that the "2018 FIFA World Cup" (soccer tournament) had just begun, and we each thought of buying said newborn (named Tristan) items connected to this major sporting event (especially since Corynne has the unique position of being a 'sports therapist')…
Glenn had already bought for the baby (and mailed out first) a miniature soccer ball, and a set of pajamas with the red and white colors of the flag of Spain (as our biological father was born in Vigo, Spain).
Now, it was my turn to purchase something sports-related for Tristan...
We'd ventured to the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, Florida - where I'd already bought a smaller soccer ball, and the smallest pair of Nike sneakers with Velcro(R) straps for the baby (hoping upon hope that Tristan will be able to start walking in them, before he outgrows them).
The only other item I wanted to buy was a extra-small T-shirt with the "Team Spain" insignia on it. Unfortunately, most of the sporting goods stores (like Dick's) were either out of shirts that size, or had shirts that size, but none of them were Team Spain garments...
Then, as luck would have it, Glenn and I encountered a kiosk in the middle of the mall that had all sorts of colorful shirts, all pertaining to the various teams participating in the "World Cup" tournament. And, sure enough, I saw a baby-sized shirt representing "Team Spain".
There was a young lady in charge of said kiosk, and I'd asked her (just to be sure), if the shirt represented the European country...
"Spain?" I'd asked.
"iSi!" she replied. "España."
Now that I knew she was bilingual (speaking both English and Spanish), I'd decided to ask her one more question in Spanish. I needed to know if the garment was made for a little boy or a little girl (as I didn't want to make the mistake of sending Tristan a feminine piece of clothing).
"¿Niño o niña?" I asked.
"¿Que?" she responded in a startled manner.
"¿Niño o niña?"
"iNo!" she finally replied. "iPerro!"
"What?!"
The kiosk vendor pointed to a sign above all of the garments that simply read "Fashion Paws".
It took just mere seconds for Glenn and I to suddenly realize that all of the "World Cup" garments at said kiosk were made for pets (dogs and cats), and not human babies! (In other words, the T-shirt I'd pointed out was made for a small dog, barely larger than a terrier!) We were laughing hysterically for a whole minute, before I'd apologized to the vendor for the mistake. (It certainly made her day, at least!)
I never did find a "World Cup" T-shirt for Tristan (which was just as well, since "Team Spain" was eliminated during the quarter-finals), but I'd compensated by adding two other gifts for his mother Corynne: a $20 department store gift card and three boxes of 'wet wipes' (the latter bought, at discount, in one of the Toys R Us stores that was "going out of business" that month). I'd mailed those items - along with the soccer ball and the Nike footwear - a few days after Glenn sent his package first...
Sure enough, I received a text message from Corynne one week later:
"I love the sneakers!"
My brother Glenn and I took it upon ourselves to buy special presents for the newborn (as well as for the first-time mother), and 'snail-mail' them from Margate, Florida to East Rockaway, New York.
It was around that same time that the "2018 FIFA World Cup" (soccer tournament) had just begun, and we each thought of buying said newborn (named Tristan) items connected to this major sporting event (especially since Corynne has the unique position of being a 'sports therapist')…
Glenn had already bought for the baby (and mailed out first) a miniature soccer ball, and a set of pajamas with the red and white colors of the flag of Spain (as our biological father was born in Vigo, Spain).
Now, it was my turn to purchase something sports-related for Tristan...
We'd ventured to the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, Florida - where I'd already bought a smaller soccer ball, and the smallest pair of Nike sneakers with Velcro(R) straps for the baby (hoping upon hope that Tristan will be able to start walking in them, before he outgrows them).
The only other item I wanted to buy was a extra-small T-shirt with the "Team Spain" insignia on it. Unfortunately, most of the sporting goods stores (like Dick's) were either out of shirts that size, or had shirts that size, but none of them were Team Spain garments...
Then, as luck would have it, Glenn and I encountered a kiosk in the middle of the mall that had all sorts of colorful shirts, all pertaining to the various teams participating in the "World Cup" tournament. And, sure enough, I saw a baby-sized shirt representing "Team Spain".
There was a young lady in charge of said kiosk, and I'd asked her (just to be sure), if the shirt represented the European country...
"Spain?" I'd asked.
"iSi!" she replied. "España."
Now that I knew she was bilingual (speaking both English and Spanish), I'd decided to ask her one more question in Spanish. I needed to know if the garment was made for a little boy or a little girl (as I didn't want to make the mistake of sending Tristan a feminine piece of clothing).
"¿Niño o niña?" I asked.
"¿Que?" she responded in a startled manner.
"¿Niño o niña?"
"iNo!" she finally replied. "iPerro!"
"What?!"
The kiosk vendor pointed to a sign above all of the garments that simply read "Fashion Paws".
It took just mere seconds for Glenn and I to suddenly realize that all of the "World Cup" garments at said kiosk were made for pets (dogs and cats), and not human babies! (In other words, the T-shirt I'd pointed out was made for a small dog, barely larger than a terrier!) We were laughing hysterically for a whole minute, before I'd apologized to the vendor for the mistake. (It certainly made her day, at least!)
I never did find a "World Cup" T-shirt for Tristan (which was just as well, since "Team Spain" was eliminated during the quarter-finals), but I'd compensated by adding two other gifts for his mother Corynne: a $20 department store gift card and three boxes of 'wet wipes' (the latter bought, at discount, in one of the Toys R Us stores that was "going out of business" that month). I'd mailed those items - along with the soccer ball and the Nike footwear - a few days after Glenn sent his package first...
Sure enough, I received a text message from Corynne one week later:
"I love the sneakers!"
