Nothing Ever Happens Here!

"Nothing ever happens here!”

Ali and her twin brother Alex complained and sighed in unison as they came into the living room and flopped down on the floor next to their mother’s chair. It was the second week of summer break and they were already bored with television, bicycles, and the pool in their back yard. Their mother looked up from her magazine.

“Did you see the fire truck that just went by our house?”

“No!” cried the two children as they jumped up from the floor.

They leaped up onto the couch and peered out the large window. They turned back to look at their mother in disbelief.

“How about that clown truck?” their mom asked.

The two children whipped back around but only caught the tail end of the truck but heard the truck's music. They didn’t have long to wait to see more, because next to come by was a man riding a unicycle. The unicycle was decorated with brightly colored streamers, and the man had a multi-colored streamer attached to the top of his tall, bright green, felt hat. The streamers were waving happily in the breeze as he rode by their house.

“Where do you suppose everyone is going?” they turned and asked their mom.

“I don’t know but it must be some place interesting,” she replied. “There goes a giant mouse on a skateboard!”

Ali and Alex laughed as the skateboarding mouse zipped by and then paused to do figure eights on the street before continuing on its way. Next was a slow-moving camel, plodding past their house. The man riding the camel spotted the children and waved, as did the monkey who was riding on his shoulder.

“Maybe it’s a parade!” Alex said excitedly.

“Maybe it’s a circus!” Ali exclaimed.

“Maybe it’s a carnival!" they both yelled.

"Can we go, Mom, please, can we?” they begged.

“Let’s follow them and see where they are going,” she smiled as she stood up. “Get ready!”

They left the house and followed the mother and her two baby elephants who were being led by a woman in a shiny silver-sequined dress, and the three acrobats who were tumbling and flipping cartwheels down the street.

Ali skipped and sighed happily, “Something always happens here!”