Hell on wheels

A few months ago, our friends, Joe and Sheila, gave Hope a hand-me-down push cart their daughter used. Apparently, she loved it so much they had to hide the evidence of their betrayal, sneaking the Winnie the Pooh-themed vehicle into the car while she was unaware, employing the stealth and foresight of high-school sophomores stashing a six-pack of Blatz in the woodshed for Homecoming.

Now we can see why. The cart has given Hope the freedom of a young go-getter's first moped. It took her a while to warm up to its charms and figure out how to maneuver it. But now she's hell on wheels, making the rounds of the house like a milk-man dropping off Half and Half to Aunt Ethel back in the day.

Until a few weeks ago, she would travel in straight lines and cry when she reached the wall. Now, she's figured out routes even more circuitous than Northwest pilots. She rounds corners with ease and aplomb, makes hairpin turns worth of Mario Andretti and generally terrorizes Mo's beloved but otherwise vile tabby, Jack. Lulu has already learned to give Hope a wide birth when she's in the cockpit of the Winnie the Pooh mobile.

Here's our girl in action. And thanks, Joe and Sheila. And sorry to their daughter. Hopefully, she can't read yet. But she is awfully precocious.