no distinguished dead people here, no

The Sprout has chicken pox. But that is not why I'm here. I'm here because yesterday, while I was tallying pox-spots in the Sprout's bedroom, Peanut and Bean came running in yelling that there was a ghost in the fireplace.

"No. Really. I'm serious."

The Peanut might not make a very good lawyer. It's not her ability to lie--she's aced that one--it's her need to be believed. She can have me completely stumped until she shows her hand. "No. Really. I'm serious. You HAVE to believe me. Do you believe me?"

As a small side note: Peanut has been experimenting with religion lately. She heavily believes in reincarnation but, surprisingly, doesn't NEED me to believe it with her. Anyway, we've been having a lot of God Talk lately which, frankly, makes me uncomfortable.

Anyhoo.

I decided not to weigh in on this one. Peanut is adamant that there are ghosts and goes on to say how her daddy told her that if you touch a ghost you get all slimy. As you can tell, we're all about The Science here. Anyway, she's trying to figure out a way to prove to her brother that there are ghosts (forgetting, of course, the ectoplasm-dripping spectre in the fireplace) but he's not having any of it.

Bean: "There are no ghosts. There's no such thing."

Peanut: "Yes, there are. It's not like they're distinct."

At which point I begin listening to the conversation again because, what?

B: "?"

P: "I mean, there's still ghosts in the world. It's not like some animals that are distinct. There are still ghosts. DO YOU BELIEVE ME?"

B: "?"

That's right. Distinct ghosts. Because, like I said. All about the science here.