I dragged Charlie to Home Depot. He wore a childish smirk as we approached an employee.
"Hi, uh, do you know where the gardening supplies are?" I asked.
"Sure. What exactly are you looking for?"
I didn't dare look at Charlie, I needed to keep it together. "Well, stuff like plastic tubing, funnels, you know, things like that."
The guy's face lit up with understanding. "Ohhhhh, hold on." He walked over to a phone on the wall. The PA system chimed and his voice thundered through the store.
"ED, WE'VE GOT A BEER BONG ON AISLE 9!"
Charlie covered his face as he silently shook with one of those highly contagious laughs. So the cat was out of the bag.
I've got to hand to the Home Depot team. They did a great job pinpointing the biggest funnel I'd ever seen, forty feet of tubing, a durable plastic valve, clamp, slicer, barb — all kinds of hardware I hadn't even thought of.
"So… do you see a lot of people making these?" I said.
"Every week," he said. "But no one your age."
A teaser:
