Pushing the Button, Again

Gambling is not something I do. You want me to place a bet on a team, go opposite. The west side casino is not someplace I'm going to visit.

There is one thing that is hard to resist though.



Let me change that. I do not put money into any skill crane, just the ones with frogs in them.

You see, my wife, she likes frogs.

The Kroger we go to has a skill crane. As we leave I check the skill crane for frogs and, more importantly, their position in the box. If they're at the bottom, hiding underneath a pile of unnecessary plush, I walk by. If I do not have any quarters in my pockets, I walk by. I do not carry rolls of quarters to the skill crane. So if there is a frog in an attainable by claw position, and I have a couple of quarters, I'll put them in and try my luck. This usually happens a couple of times a month. Most of the time, the frog does not get grabbed by the claw and I'm out fifty cents. Life goes on.

I've pulled a frog out of a skill crane once, two years ago I was alone, tried my luck and brought home a wee frog.

But if no one sees you do it, did it really happen?

Yesterday we did our shopping and walked through the vestibule where the skill crane is. I looked in, assessed that a big frog just may be ripe for the picking, put in my fifty cents, lined up the claw, and pushed the button.



Win.

Now, as we're walking to the car after I won her the frog she's going on saying that the machine, the claw, is set to work only every so often. She's saying the machine is rigged.

Please.

Why do they call it a Skill Crane?

It's skill that won her that cuddly frog friend. My skill. There were no electronic shenanigans in play here. Why can't she accept that her husband is occasionally adept in the use of the skill crane and leave it at that?