Genealogical Research

Justin and his friend, Winston, are two very clever 11-year-old young men.  On this particular summer afternoon, they had no interest whatsoever in exercise and fresh air but seeking instead, the status of Ultimate Couch Potato.  Unfortunately, while they may be clever, they are not very stealth.

“Can you put in the code for the TV?” Justin asked.

We had activated the V-chip so as to get a handle on their screen time.

“No,” I said.

“Can you put in the code for the Wii?” he asked.

“No,” I repeated.

It's a beautiful afternoon, go outside and play.

“What's your mother's maiden name?” he asked, innocently.

“Nice try,” I replied, knowing that they wanted to bypass the security question and reset one of the passwords that I refused to part with.

“Can we go to the library?” he inquired.

“Yes!” I said, enthusiastically.

Finally, a decent suggestion.  Wait a second...

“You know what they're going there to do?” Ethan casually asked me, from his place on the couch.

You mean they're not going to innocently read books?

“No,” I admitted.

Apparently, their plan was to use a computer to visit ancestry.com.  They wanted to research my wife's mother's maiden name because that's the security question in case you forget the Wii password.

Try using your powers for good instead of evil.

- July 2012