Guest blog by James, who told the kids tonight at bedtime that they could ask him any questions they wanted to.

(emi) are spoons made of metal? Why don’t spoons rust in water?
(james) they are made of a special metal called stainless steel. Stainless steel doesn’t rust.
(Emi) is your wedding ring made of metal? Is it the same metal? Is that why it doesn’t rust?
(James) yes, that’s right
(emi) why do you wear a ring?
(james) so people will know that I’m married. That way when a nice girl sees me, she’ll see the ring, and know that I already have a wife
(emi) Chrissy doesn’t have a ring
(james) that’s right – chrissy isn’t married yet.
(emi) why do we need blood?
(james) blood carries energy around your body. If your blood ever stopped flowing, then the energy would stop flowing and you’d stop moving.
(emi) why do owies bleed? What makes an owie?
(james) your body is covered with a thin layer called skin. When something cuts the skin, some of the blood underneath comes out.
(tuck) how do people die?
(james) there are a few ways that people die. One way is if the blood stops flowing around their body. If the blood doesn’t flow anymore, then the energy can’t flow, and people will die. People can also die if they don’t eat for a long time since then they run out of energy. Finally, when people get really really old (much older than me & mommy) sometimes they just die because their bodies stop working.
(tuck) I’m going to stop eating and die!!!
(james) Don't do that! Then your mommy and I would be very sad! We love you a lot and don’t want you to die. Then you wouldn’t be here anymore and we’d miss you a lot and we’d be sad.
(tuck) if I die, then I’ll send you another baby to replace me.
(james) how will you do that?
(tuck) I’ll yell really loud, and give you a new baby
(james) well, no one is going to die around here, especially not you guys and not me or mommy. We’ll be here to take care of you guys.
(tuck) where will we go if you and mommy die?
(emi) we’ll be just like pippi longstocking. We’ll live by ourselves and cook for ourselves. Pippi cooks for herself.
(james) yes, but pippi is just pretend
(emi) oh
(james) if something did happen to me and mommy, you would go live with someone else who would take good care of you
(emi) like chrissy?
(james) no, like our relatives who live on the East Coast
(tuck) but who would drive us to the airport?
(james) excuse me?
(tuck) how would we get there? There would not be anyone to take us to the airport! We can’t drive yet.
(james) oh, you wouldn’t have to drive to the airport. They would come and pick you up.
(tuck) but we don't know how to dial a real phone yet. How would we call them?
(james) oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. If something happened to me & mommy then I’m sure someone would notice, like a neighbor, and would make the call for you. But you know, you probably should know about a very special number on the phone. Come closer and I’ll tell you something very important. (tuck and emi move in closer). There’s a very special number that you can dial on the phone to get help, but it’s only for real emergencies, you never ever dial it for fun. It’s like that story about the boy who cried wolf. (blank looks). Never mind, just know that you only call this phone number if it’s a real emergency and if we tell you to, like if we’re really sick. The number is 9-1-1. And you would dial it, and ask for help, and people would send help.
(emi) except you could dial it on a play phone. We could practice dialing it on our pretend phones.
(james) yes, I guess you could. Let’s practice now.
(emi) (lifts up her hand and pretends to push buttons on her palm. ). 9-1-1
(tuck) (gleeful) I’m dialing 9-1-1!
(james) okay, let’s all practice. 9-1-1. Hello, this is 9-1-1, how can I help you?
(tuck and emi together) This is 9-1-1. How can I help you.
(james) no, that’s what they say. This is what you say.
(tuck and emi together) This is 9-1-1. How can I help you.
(james) no no, you say “we’re having an emergency, please send help”
(tuck and emi together) we’re having an emergency, please send help
(james) okay, an ambulance is on its way.
(emi) okay.

[This is Maggie Tai again:] Fascinating. But James -- really -- "If something happened to me & mommy then I’m sure someone would notice, like a neighbor..." !!!