The Claw

I love the claw machine.  I think they are fantastic and for years I could not walk by one without playing it.  I have to say I was pretty good at it, too.  I remember this one time, my sister, Kendall, and I were coming back from my grandfathers funeral.  This was, gosh, 15 or 16 years ago I bet.  We stopped at the oasis for gas and a snack and I played the claw machine winning prize after prize.  Some guy came over and offered me $10 to win something for his girlfriend.

That's not the only time I have been given money by strangers to win claw machine prizes for them.  When my older daughter, Mackenzie, was about 3 or 4 she too got sucked in by the claw.  She inherited my knack for accurately placing the claw over a specific item and hitting the release button at just the right time.  One time and she was addicted.  Really.  Over the last few years we outlawed claw machines because it got to the point where Mackenzie could not walk by one without HAVING to play. 

Tonight we decided to let Dharma try her hand at the fantastic claw.  Up until tonight she has been a mere onlooker.  Cheering for us when we won and sharing in our disappointment when we didn't.  After explaining the game, and giving her some pointers, I put in the money and Dharma carefully moved the joystick to the right.  Then the left.  Back a little.  Nope, too far, forward again.  When she was confident she was located just over the toy she wanted, a monkey of course (refer to the Christmas Day blog) she got a gleam in her eye.  I knew the feeling all too well.  Excitement and hope that you win, but a lurking feeling that you know you probably won't.  She pressed the red button.  The claw seemed to take forever to reach the bottom.  It grabbed the monkey, lifted the monkey, and started to carry the monkey across the clear, plexiglass box.  While Dharma was jumping, I was secretly thinking that it was going to fall just shy of the hole and we were going to end up either putting in more money to try again, or walking away with a crying child.

Then it happened.  The claw dropped the monkey.  About 6 inches away from the hole.  Oh No!!  My heart sunk.  Rob started to say "awwww."  Then, as if she willed it to happen, the monkey rolled, just enough to fall into the hole.  She grabbed that monkey and yelled "It's just the one I wanted!"