The other night Bobby and I were watching Bob the Builder with the kids. It’s not my favorite show, but Joshua loves it and it’s pretty harmless. Or so I thought. This particular episode contained a story about Bob’s building partner, Wendy, and his crew planning a surprise birthday party for him. They pull off the surprise, and Bob says, “I thought you’d forgotten my birthday.” Then, the show takes a more um, adult, turn, as Wendy bats her eyelashes and says huskily, “Forget your birthday, Bob? Oh, never!”
I looked at my husband. “What was that?” I asked.
Bobby’s eyebrows raised in concern. “Um, I’m not sure. But I think the sexual tension between Bob and Wendy is making me uncomfortable!”
“Yeah, for real. I think they need to build themselves a room after the birthday party!” I agreed.
The next story in this episode is about the local famer in Sunflower Valley, whose name is Farmer Pickles. He never seemed suspicious to me, but this story was all about how much he loves his grandmother’s tea set. It accidentally gets taken by Bob and the crew for recycling, and when it is found again, Farmer Pickles has a serious hissy fit he is so happy to see it! Once again, this caught my and Bobby’s attention.
“He seems awfully excited about a tea set,” I observed. “You know, for a farmer.”
“Uh…is there a Mrs. Pickles?” Bobby asked.
“I don’t think so. He just hangs out with his scare crow in his sunflower oil factory.”
“Yikes. Pickles. Interesting name.”
“Maybe Sunflower Valley is more diverse than we thought.”
So, after that ground-breaking episode, I’ll never be able to watch Bob the Builder without snickering and reading into everything they say. And hopefully after reading this, neither will you!
You’re welcome!
