My dad just walked in. He's wearing his greasy mechanic one-piece outfit and holding some rusty car part from Rachel's car. Hopefully the part that's making it hard to start the car. Yep, he just confirmed it, it's the starter. He's a pastor, but he looks very at home as an engineer.
It's great being home and settling into a different rhythm, even though it's only for a while. I have enjoyed the simple things - picking dandelions out of the grass, having a drink at the coffee shop where Rachel works, watching the crabapple blossoms bloom on the tree, and laying on the backyard lawn in the sun. My family is awesome.
It was fun being at the Webbers, too, for our yearly gathering of four families. Sam, Cindie and Danice were the newbies this year, and they all live in Vancouver, so it was a strange meeting of two worlds for me. Lots of laughs, theological discussions, visits to cattle ranches, rides in the back of pick-up trucks, gopher shooting (I didn't participate), and eating. Some pictures of Danice experiencing the prairies:
Oh yeah, I'm also doing a survey right now. It's a dialectical geographical survey, and you can participate. It's very important. Here's the question - please leave your answer as a comment, and state where you live: What do you call the game where you knock on people's doors or ring their doorbells, and then you run away before they open it?
Please answer. Vancouver, I'll see you in a couple days.
15 comments:
Not sure how to spell it, but when I was growing up in Calgary, it was called "nicky nicky nine door"... I was such a goody-two-shoes that I'd never do it...until once when I grew tired of the teasing about being "too good" to do it. I walked up to the front door - and the people drove up the driveway. :)
I've called it by three names. Here they are in order of prevalence:
1. "nicky nicky nine door"
2. "ring the bell, run like hell"
3. "ding dong ditch"
I live in Saskatoon, but I did spend grades 3-8 in the Okanagan.
Anna has only heard #3 and she was raised in Paradise Hill, though she suspects she got it from TV.
I grew up in Saskatoon. Does "Knock Knock Ginger" ring a bell with anyone else? I am pretty sure that's what we called it....
Knock Knock Ginger??
Ring the bell and run like hell.
I've never played that game. Where I grew up (St. Vincent), we didn't have doorbells. But if you were to knock on someone's door and then run, they would probably come chasing after you with a cutlass (machete) or a stick, or a stone to throw after you, so nobody there would think of doing that.
I'm with AJT...Nicky, Nicky Nine Door. I did this a lot growing up...I was a bad kid.
Sigh. You are all so young...
Cherry Knocking
Ding Dong Ditch
Doorbell Ditch
Knock and Nash - (Nash is north England slang for run)
Knock'N'Run more...
Knock and Run
knock a door run
Nicky-Knicky Nine-Doors - (From Canada)
Nicky-Knocky Nine-Doors
Nicky Knocky Hide Door
Thunder and Lightning
Knocky ido - Posted by Lee Horsman from Middlesborough
Rat-atat-Ginger - Posted by Andy Moore from Wales
Chap door Runaway - Posted by Phil Dawson from Scotland
knick-knock
klingelputz - Germany
Nick-nack - Cathal from Dublin
Bobby knocking
Belletje trek (Flemish) Posted by: edmee boyen
Cotton knocking Posted by: charlz
Knick Knock Nanny Posted by: Tony
Postman's Knock (Australian) Posted by: Catherine
Knock Knock Ginger
ORIGINS
The origin of knock down ginger came from council estates because all the doors were stained a ginger colour, hence knock down ginger. Posted by: richard hicks
I grew up in Victoria and we called it Nicky, Nicky 9 doors.
In Scotland, we call it Ring,Bang, Skoosh - in the West anyway!
Grew up in Illinois, where it was called "ding dong ditch."
:-)
Well!
I grew up in the South (Texas) in the Seventies. And I am horrified and ashamed to admit that we called that game "Nxxxxx-knocking." You know what that n-word is.
It wasn't a word we ever used in any other context...honest!
We also called it "Ring and run."
My husband says he never heard of such a game and I must have been a hoodlum.
Oh dear.
only ever ever heard of ding dong ditch - what is this nicky nicky nine doors business? we also prank called people by making up phone numbers. Punks. Keith never did either. Too good I guess.
Growing up in Southern California in the 70's and early 80's if I remember correctly we called it "doorbell ditch." Ring the doorbell and then run and hide from (ditch) whoever came to answer the door. We did prank phone calls on occasion too.
Exactly the same as Mary Beth's. Grew up in TX in the 70's as well. I didn't even want to write this comment, it's so embarrassing.
At the same time, isn't it weird that this game seems to be played all over the world? Was it really that much fun? Well, you can't do crank phone calls anymore because of caller ID, so I guess this remains the next best thing.
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