Stupid Thumb

by Kimi Goodrich

She must have been around 4 or 5, with deep dimples and brown hair in pigtails tied in purple ribbons that matched the romper dress she had on. I spied her sitting with her mother, who was busy reading Time magazine while her daughter finished her dinner, and I drank my coffee at a nearby table. The little girl’s plate had a half eaten hamburger on it, a few french fries, and a mound of ketchup, which she was gleefully smothering her french fries in as she sang a little song about how much the fries liked to bathe in ketchup. When she ran out of french fries she glanced at her mom to see if she was looking, and once she realized her mom was still immersed in the magazine, she started dipping her thumb into the ketchup and licking it off. This went on for a few minutes until suddenly she looked down in disgust at her thumb and said, “No more for you, you stupid thumb!” With that point made, she then started to dip her other one in.

6S

Kimi Goodrich, author of Dinner with My Family, My Newest Lover, Take the Money and Run, The Unborn Kiss (and now Stupid Thumb) is officially 6S's most prolific writer. She's officially cool, too.