![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p7zSs70zm5iOtu9hfBU31tD6rf1h91FFjnkuZSHbq8Yit3Kv0Rn5IqMGzN6ExYKYG9vZXUygsGtagKPleUNf4ineMXLFmNeDqmXWUL9qXGpSY2cgKVbXZ3uo9ieTvdDpr6RQw-6hhZU/s200/hobbytrontruck.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrHPyM6j19MLAkGAsCfK0hZmLLOchwzFcESqBSmnaCEbQYAHxpNKVpel4p6NDaYPEVVWo4GSLr149B3lOH_4nTZToklQPJnJhFf6ZdrslYo8KBbFW2Cjfu5SCCl28oBXllyPQ2oxXaEk/s200/goantiquecattletruck.jpg)
Father: Happy birthday, Mikey!
Mikey: Oh boy! What is it?
Father: (laughs) Well, unwrap it and see!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtk6vJIUPuE56N5_136X8_37nXlfoq7thuy7AiGTg4F5ia4LDLxs0HrTmsjp93mUQqI3T2Eniq0LDtr3X6-knvHNddHd2nyLNxUXJaNDcxCCP_66smJ09luQLvteU-V-S4aNMP08uHhk/s200/goantiquelstruck.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKCLeuaBJjb0kgo1ggSyOg6Vc8dAzXp96xiKVQp2PA6B_u4R5TDo9bWreNe-RzvgIv8QmUBvGnHi5Mq0DmwgcvKurgac3Xcyarj7_TjLNfkb-r0hb-f5a63CrnUBzDdIdJM6Sdl6q_BA/s200/truckhobbypoultry.JPG)
Mikey: Is it a puppy?
Father: Unwrap it!
The child unwraps the package.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVHklKJ1TwKszIx758OewerF2QnogN2pUtTcONVG3ypgBSSzn6OyNvXJMLiPU-F5qBwF6mTiqF6rdI1yQC0drqfLRT4migI7CaIKCYx7SmE-g_rO3MRn2rFEQUvlAJItzLrIAa8Pb0Kg/s200/megahobbytruck.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PYD01FRxdXPeo_GpGeGCSBgHUGnFaLkCJZbQv5t-qwRwQ7e3-ZuAC7S0oSOnWzdZ0eKv95NjN5wqc-arwCZHI4K3bDmf7EeEd7gzYObE2O4BVdHNkR_Mgd-PwvL7TJxTSvZzPMmZbz4/s200/livestock.jpg)
Mikey: Oh. A truck.
Father: Yeah, but it’s a
livestock truck! I know how much you like animals.
Mikey: What’s a livestock truck?
Father: It’s a truck that takes animals to the processing plant.
Mikey: What’s processing?
Father: You know. Processing. But first, the truck takes the animals on a long, long ride. Remember when we went to California last year?
Mikey: Yeah.
Father: Same thing! Only the animals don’t get any food or water and the whole thing is horrible and lots of animals die on their way.
Mikey: (starts to cry) Why don’t they get food?
Father: That would be a waste! The animals will be killed before they could even digest it. What would the point of
that be?
Mikey: They get killed? (sobbing)
Father: Sure! But they like it!
Mikey: (unintelligible speech)
Father: Now
you can pretend to drive the cows and pigs and chickens to their death!
Mikey: (loud crying)
Mother: What the hell are you doing? How did you get in?
Father: I'm just giving Big Mike his birthday present.
Mother: I thought my lawyer explained this to you.
Father: Come on, Helen. It’s his birthday!
Mikey: Daddy wants me to kill chickens!
Father: I don’t want you to kill— I just want him to
pretend to kill them! The animals
want you to kill them!
Mother: Janet was right! You’re sick!
Mikey: (crying)
Father: Don’t you get it? The animals
want to be killed! Besides, it’s good for Mikey’s imagination!
Mother: What the hell are you talking about?
Father: Imagining what it would sound like back there. The screams of fear. And my god! The smell!
Mother: Get out or I’m calling the police!
Father: I’m going, I’m going. Happy birthday, champ!
Mikey: (sobbing, unintelligible speech)
Mother: Get out!
Father: Remember, I’ll see you this weekend, champ!
Mikey: (crying)
(Image sources, top row: HobbyTron, GO Antiques; second row: GO Antiques, Truck Hobby; third row: Mega Hobby, unknown.)