Suffice it to say that he's a slacker. No, that's not the word for it. He's more of a schmoozer, someone who has that gift of brains and street smarts that lets him get the most out of life with the minimum of input. Take, for example, his driving (or lack thereof). He is old enough to have a learner's permit, but refuses to drive. Reasoning: why spend your hard earned money on gas and insurance when you have parents and friends willing to take you places? Besides, if he works rides out for the year, he can simply walk in and get a regular license without spending the money on a learner's permit. Fine for him, but things came to a head with his parents about it. The idea: give him some clue that he needs to get off his Play Station beating butt and get a car and a license. But how to get it through a teen’s skull? Drills? Some Clockwork Orange style programming session? No, something much simpler.

The solution: key chains. Lots of them. All wrapped as Christmas gifts.

And the best part of all of this? He’s vowing revenge on me for the prank! We’ll see what Slacker Boy can pull off, if he does pull off anything at all.