Wanting To Adopt On Throw It Back Thursday

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 23560 – 1217

Here’s the haps:

I was rifling through some archives and found this to share with you.

In the entertainment world, including the circus, people often give themselves stage names that are easy for people to say and remember but yet seem to capture their persona so well. John and Mary Smith were a couple like that. Their stage name of The Fabulous, Flying Fletchers was well known in the industry and having a real name that was very common helped them maintain anonymity.

As exciting and daring, even dangerous as circus life was, John and Mary felt like they wanted more so they went to an adoption agency looking to adopt a child. Georgette Snodgrass, (and yes, that was her real name, she couldn’t use any sort of fabulous stage name) was a social worker with doubts. When she found out what the Smiths did for a living she raised concerns about their suitability. Yes, people in the entertainment industry certainly did adopt children but they were usually, ummm, how should she put this? Less itinerant.

The couple produced photos of their 50-foot motor home, which was clean, well-maintained, and equipped with a beautiful nursery. “That really does look quite nice.” Georgette said, duly impressed. “But what about education? Would you have the time and energy to do homeschooling? I can’t imagine you could take off work for extended periods to enroll the child in a regular school.”

John put her mind at ease. “We’ve arranged for a full-time tutor with impeccable credentials.” He produced the tutor’s resume and references and again it was quite impressive. Georgette Snodgrass began to waver. These people certainly seemed to have what it took. “But one last thing,” she said, “What sort of environment is a circus?” Mary told her about how their fellow performers were far more than co-workers and were a more tightly knit family than a lot of blood relatives were. “And in addition,” she explained, “We’ve also hired a nanny who is an expert in pediatric care and development. Here are her credentials.” The nanny’s name had more letters behind it than a can of alphabet soup. Much more than Georgette herself had.

The social worker was finally satisfied and asked the couple, “What age child are you hoping to adopt?” And John said, “Oh, It doesn’t matter, really, just as long as the kid can fit in the cannon.”

---

Now, I don’t know whether the social worker went ballistic or not. It was kind of up in the air for a bit, but, to be fair, with their credentials…Well, you won’t find many parents of that caliber. I can’t recall if they got fired…