In Loving Memory...Crabman

(I really wrote this post in September but I didn't know how to complete it with a video. Now, obviously, I do. So despite the somewhat dated pictures the content should still be reasonably informative.)

If there is a time of day that you know McKay looks forward to, it would have to be bath time. Eating is great. Sleeping can be good or bad. But bath time is always a winner.

When McKay first was able to play in the bath tub somewhat independently we bought him a few bath toys. As it turned out, McKay thought they were all cool, but took an especially strong liking to the small crab. He carried that crab everywhere - not just to the tub. Crabman, as we affectionately dubbed him, went with us to church, on trips, and basically anywhere that McKay went.



Teri and I always knew that if McKay got upset, Crabman's even keeled temperament could always cheer Baby K up. I suppose it probably had more to do with the fact that Crabman was made out of a rubbery plastic which made him perfect for massaging K's achy gums, but then again I wouldn't discount the crab's personality either.



In the end, I think Teri and I started liking Crabman just as much as McKay. I definitely noticed a soft spot in my heart for the little guy, perhaps more out of the fond memories that he brought back to mind than anything else, but I did have fun playing with him too. After his several month infatuation with our crustacean friend, McKay moved on to bigger, better, shinier, blinkier, and noisier things.


(Does this video not show up for you? Click here to watch it.)

Crabman still entertained at bath time, but it was as if his prominent role in our lives had been reduced to a non-speaking cameo on Baywatch. (Interestingly enough, one of my mission companions was the brother of Kelly Packard - a Baywatch lifeguard).

It seemed that Crabman's sparkling personality lacked spark. His sense of pizazz was missing some of its piz - or maybe its azz. Crabman was starting to go the way of all those toys you hear about in Toy Story, once loved and now forgotten.

Despite McKay's fickleness for rubberized friends, I still thought Crabman was cool. And so it was sad one day when I discovered in the middle of McKay's bath that it appeared some of McKay's toys were starting to get moldy on the inside. It was that day that we lost Mr. Turtle and sadly Crabman.

So here's to you Crabman. Although your rubber soul no longer dwells with us your memory will always linger. Your body probably will probably always linger too, but it will be hanging out with a bunch of other moldy toys in some place that probably doesn't smell too good. As you make your way there we send you off with this haiku.

Googley eyes and
pincers to suck on have made
a friend of McKay.

We love you man!

(P.S. Last week Teri and McKay were at Target when McKay started doing his excited caveman noise. It goes, "oooooh. oooooh." Teri turned and was trying to figure out what he wanted and kept pointing at different things to no avail. McKay didn't want rubber duckies, sippy cups, or commemorative Star Wars action figures, he wanted something else. Finally Teri followed his gaze to a small pack of bath tub animals. McKay had seen his long lost buddy and wanted him back. So now we have Crab Man II. Here's hoping there's less mold this time.)