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As some may know, and some may not, Raul Groom and I had a wager on the outcome of the National Election. It was made many months ago, before the Swiftboat people, if you can even remember such a time. If it wasn't obvious, Raul had Kerry and I had Bush. The loser would have to put a bumper sticker of the winner's choosing on their car for one month.

As the election drew closer, Raul chose a Cleveland Browns sticker and I chose a Rush (the band, not the windbag) sticker.

It's time to pay the piper. But a side issue has come up.

After the election, sarachkah (Sophia, who is married to Raul) has brought up an issue with the bet. She says:

"Also, may I make a plea? In future bets with Raul involving the fate of the bumper of a car that is only 50% his, can I please be consulted so that I can reintroduce the conecpt of a 'pants eating' bet? Sure, it's more dangerous and foolhardy, but it won't result in a Rush bumper sticker on MY CAR!!"

and Juls backed her up with:

"I'm with sarachkah on the pants-eating bet. Is a Rush sticker the worst you could come up with? After our reunion, I really expected a lot more. Make the pregnant lady happy! Some nice, heavy cordouroy would be good."

The "pants eating" thing is the usual bet that Raul makes when he knows he can't lose. And while I find it interesting that his wife would have him eat corduroy (official slogan: Not for Eating!) rather than live with a bumper sticker of the greatest Rock band in the history of the world on their car for a month, she does have a point in terms of ownership of the car. Of course, I could say that it's Raul's problem, not mine, but she's pregnant and I'm an understanding guy.

So, what to do? Well, I am willing to change the terms of the wager to anything that is both acceptable to myself and Raul. Suggestions and discussion should be noted here in the comments. If we come to an agreement, then fine. If not, the bumper sticker will be in the mail in the not too distant future, and I'm a big fan of pictures.

Raul? Your thoughts? Sarachkah, any other suggestions, or are you sticking with corduroy? Any one else?

And if we go with corduroy, is hot sauce an allowable condiment? I guess they could be stewed for a few hours. And for that matter, does my local thrift store even have any in stock?

Replies: 7 Comments

on Friday, November 12th, Sarachkah/Sophia said

Just for the record, Raul wins bets with me all the time. Mostly things like "I bet I can get this tissue in that trash can across the room and around the corner in less than 2 tries" or "I bet I can toss a jellybean in the air and catch it in my mouth 9 times out of 10" or "I bet I can juggle 5 lemons."

He always wins those. So beware the slapstick bets, Elf. He will always best you.

on Friday, November 12th, Vampire Elf said

What's so amusing to me about all this is the complete lack of faith in Raul to actually win a bet ever!

on Friday, November 12th, sarachkah said

Greatness, I cannot even imagine a world where a child of mine likes Rush. It is too horrifying to contemplate. I would rather the child learned to like corduroy pants.

But the velcro idea is intriguing. I am not so worried about the finish, since our car is over 10 years old and was bought used.

on Friday, November 12th, The Greatness said

Perhaps the unborn Short child should have a vote too. I realize that might be seen as prejudicing the debate into "moral values" territory. Plus, he/she won't likely be operating that vehicle anytime soon. But what if the young pup learns to dig Rush? This might be an important formative exercise.

Also, the magnets are a good idea, but they might damage the finish, as many of our freedom-loving flag magnet cohorts have learned... I vote for Velcro. That way you can
easily rotate bumper stickers for future bets.

on Friday, November 12th, Sarachkah/Sophia said

I propose that the loser has to give me back massages every night for a month. Luckily, the loser lives with me. It would have been a little harder if the election had gone the other way, and Kim might not have liked that so much.

I can live with a semi-permanent bumper sticker, especially if it will bring glee to the Elf. I didn't seriously expect you to change the terms of a bet made in the past, just to consider the joint ownership of the car for all future bets.

on Friday, November 12th, RaulGroom said

Also, just to be clear, I will not eat pants.

on Friday, November 12th, RaulGroom said

Well, here's my suggestion. My original plan was to actually affix the bumper-sticker using tape or magnets, so that it would be easy to remove after the 1-month period and wouldn't damage the finish.

That said, if the bumper sticker is truly so abhorrent to Sophia that she can't bring herself to drive a car so afflicted, she could fairly easily remove the sticker when taking the car out herself.