This is Matthew. He just turned ten years old, and loves to construct LEGO things. The other day he was hanging out at his little brother’s football practice, with little or nothing productive to do. Many extra brothers and sisters often gather around the field to pass the time and wait for practice to be over, so they can all go home.
One pair of much older and larger boys was throwing a football back and forth. As Matthew watched from a distance, one of their passes strayed off course, and came to rest at Matthew’s feet. One of the bigger boys approached Matthew in order to retrieve his football. Then he stopped some distance from Matthew and just stood there in silence.
Matthew said, “Would you like me to throw you the ball?”
There was an extended silence, as though the big kid did not know how to respond to such a question.
After a few more seconds of silence, Matthew said:
“I will take that as a NO.”
Matthew turned around and walked away from the football.
Exactly where ten year old boys get their interesting responses is not entirely clear, but one might suspect Sponge Bob Square Pants, or other cartoon characters within the kids’ culture.