We had a great Passover visit with a guest I’ll call, in the most complimentary way, Childish Adult Visitor  (CAV).  He arrived from LA toting a stuffed parrot and a hotdog-on-a-stick puppet, both part of his “work.” Right!  “Childish.”  No, I don’t mean the dreamy, poetic sounding “childlike.”

“Childlike” implies intentional innocence, wide-eyed endearing enthusiasm, and awwwww- inspiring cute images that sell hokey diamond heart bracelets, organic dog food, and Cialis. (His n’ Hers bathtubs- awwwwwwkward.)

“Childish” is impulsive, uninhibited, fiendishly silly, and really entertaining.

Childish Adult Visitor (CAV): I wanna take my stuffed parrot and my hotdog-on-a-stick puppet to Old Town- now, Now, NOW! I’m 41 and you’re not the boss of me, Nyah!

H-O-A-S puppet, no way!  Oy! You could poke out an eye with that stick! But the parrot looks fairly harmless, so OK. The parrot’s name, BTW, is Sonny.  I had thought “Sunny” as in cozy, warm, and cheery. But, no, it’s “Sonny” as in Corleone (“Don’t youse stop at any tollbooths!”  As if NM even had tollbooths! Who wants to pay $$$$ to go 75mph to get to Tucumcari or Farmington faster?!)

So we took Sonny, the stuffed parrot and his CAV buddy  to Old Town and beyond.
First stop on the tour – The Candy Lady (thecandylady.com) in her bright, new location just around the corner from her old spot.  An Old Town Festival event was just winding down and The Candy Lady’s glassed-in front porch was crowded with folks snapping up Breaking Bad t-shirts, mugs, caps, and cards and posing for postable pics in those black Heisenberg hats.  But CAV and his sidekick Sonny were on a mission! Would it still be there? YES!  The naughty candy  “For Adults Only” room was well-stocked. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

CAV: What do you think, Sonny? Should we get two extra large chocolate penises and a pair of boobs? How about those tie-dye hued penis pops? Smile, Sunny. This pic with the hee hee boobs and penises is for posting on Facebook.
With Sonny on his shoulder, and a last, loud, explicit tally of his sexy sweets selection, CAV moved on to choose an assortment of fudge from the trays of famous flavors- orange cream, maple pecan,chocolate red chile, and more. Easter treats, truffles, licorice, and many other delectable specialities were also on display.  All in all – a successful site shift. Mazal Tov!
Would the ebullient Candy Lady, herself, Debbie Ball, pose for pictures with Sonny the Parrot?
“Sure!”  Something for CAV to tawwwwwk about back home.

Well stocked with munchies, we followed CAV and Sonny around the block to the ABQ Museum of History and Art. CAV discovered a set of life-sized metal sculptures depicting the Spanish arrival in what would eventually become Albuquerque, NM.  Within nano seconds, CAV had Sonny cavorting among the statues- nestled in a Madre’s arms, squawking “This Land is My Land” on the shoulder of the  Conquistador  leader, getting horny with a grinning sheep.

A lot of laughs for Sonny and CAV, but permit me to bawwwwwk at the rather one-sided  sculptural message here.  Just so you know- when the Spaniards arrived in NM, there were already many thriving Native American pueblo cultures here.  And the Spaniards didn’t always appreciate the pueblo presence.  BUT- here’s the good news!  Many of those pueblos now have huge casino-resorts. At any given moment, hundreds of players, including descendants of those sculptured Spanish pioneers,  are dropping big bucks into the slots and other gaming attractions  on pueblo lands. Olé!  Awwwwwwk!

A few miles east of Old Town, to wind up our tour with Sonny and CAV, what could be more childishly enticing than ice cream in a unique toy, game, and 60’s memorabilia filled shop called “I SCREAM Ice Cream.”  There, Sonny joined Pudge Penguin for photo ops on Lady Liberty.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled bird toys yearning…”
If I wasn’t taking photos with my iPad, I’d swear it was the psychedelic 60’s and we’d just had a few magic mushrooms!
Would the genial I SCREAM guy, himself, Bill, pose for pictures with Sonny the Parrot?”
“Sure!” No grown-up hesitation here. Just amused, matter-of-fact, like we were asking for another scoop of blueberry buckle.

In the adult world , the pings have stopped; the Ukraine’s crumbling; the NASDAQ’s down; The ABQ Journal is all crime and crumminess; and TWD is over for the season.
ABQ child’s play with Sonny and CAV was a really welcome diversion. Thanks, guys! Come back soon.
Maturity is soooo overrated.  Awwwwwk!