Questions, questions, questions!

On Saturday, I took my eleven year old son to his ice hockey tournament an hour's drive away from our home. At one point in the day, we had about three hours to kill between games so we headed down the road to Rutgers University, my alma mater. Actually it is my husband's alma mater too. We attended and graduated at the same time but never met then, but that's a story for another day. So my son and I enjoyed a lovely, sunny and unseasonably warm afternoon on a college campus. If I had known how many questions I would have to answer, I might have opted to stay at the rink and give my son quarters to kill brain cells on arcade games all afternoon. Here are some of his questions:

1. Why don't we see any war protests at home?

2. What are those things in the window of a "smoke shop?"

3. Hookah pipe?

4. Why would they sell those bong things if it is illegal to buy the drugs to smoke in them?

5. Why are there so many liquor stores around here?

6. Why would a Qdoba restaurant open right across the street from a Chipotle?

7. Pointing at a piece of particularly salacious graffiti,"Is that possible?"

8. Where do you think we can find a clean bathroom?

9. After using the bathroom in an art museum, "How much do you think it costs to tour the museum?"

10. While looking at exhibits, there were several questions about naked bodies I'm blushing too hard to type here.

11. What do you think could be in an exhibit that prohibits children if children are allowed to see the naked statues?

12. Can we get some ice cream?

13. Can I use a bathroom again?

I could go on, but I will spare you. The questions I kept asking myself were when did they start admitting thirteen year old girls to college because that's how old they all appear to me and why are they all dressed like Ugg wearing prostitutes?

As I did not have a Frisbee or hacky sack, we eventually sat on a bench in the sun with our books for the last half hour before heading back to the ice rink. I clocked many hours on the very same bench ages ago as an undergraduate. I loved it back then, but it was sheer bliss with my own boy beside me, especially when the questions ceased for awhile.