Raw Drip

Snot, boogies, nose nuggets, “a fly in the bush”, “a bat in the bat cave”, “a boog hanging”,  nasal secretions, or a rhinolith (the medical term) – whatever you want to call ‘em, boogers are a source of endless fascination for Adam.  Dick and I have spent countless hours reminding him to get his finger out of his nose (and subsequently his mouth) all to no avail.  Like any bad habit, once the pattern is formed in the brain, it’s hard to break.   We’ve told Adam that picking his nose and eating boogers will make him sick.  We’ve also taken the low-key approach of just removing his finger from his nostril and handing him a tissue.  So far nothing we’ve tried has deterred him.   

Maybe it’s just the allure of the hunt, but in my experience males are more prone to this disgusting behavior than females.  Case in point: As I was driving the other day, I glanced into my rearview mirror at the guy in the SUV behind me.  A slick business man in a suit & power tie, initially he drew my attention for his scary tailgating but then I noticed that he was also talking on his cell phone – and, to my horror, mining for gold like nobody’s business.  This guy was REALLY diggin’ deep.  At least then I knew why he was such a lousy driver…you can’t dig, drive AND talk.   

In this age of cameras monitoring our every move, why would anyone resort to doing this kind of thing in public?  At least have the decency to be ashamed of yourself and dig around at home, in private.
 
Take for instance, the guy who was caught picking his nose on a San Francisco street corner by the Google Maps team.  I don’t’ care how bored you are waiting for that bus – you just don’t do that!  Get your finger out of your nose!

And then there’s our president, George W., caught on camera picking his nose during a baseball game. 

I mean – come on.  You’re the President of the United States of America for God’s sake – Leader of the Free World – you travel with a security posse rivaling J-Lo’s – you just don’t blend in with the crowd anymore.  At least all my suspicions are confirmed - only a complete idiot is so oblivious to his surroundings that he’d allow himself to be memorialized on video picking his nose. 

Did I not get the memo? Is there some sort of requirement that you must be willing to eat your own boogers in public in order to be a world leader?  If you surf around YouTube you can find videos of other world leaders picking their noses, too.  Britain’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is up there.  Italy’s Prime Minister, Berlusconi is also caught in the act.  Heck, Berlusconi’s video even shows him trying to destroy the evidence… 

I’m starting to lose hope. From the look of Adam in the back seat of the minivan this morning, undertaking a very extensive gold mining operation, it would seem that Dick and I have our work cut out for us.  I don’t see him outgrowing his fascination with his nasal passages and their contents any time soon.  So if we really want to stop this nasty, nasty little habit we’re going to have to come up with something better than a health & safety lecture or running interference with his brain’s auto pilot. 

That leads me to you guys.  What are your ideas, loyal drips? When gross is mostly amusing to men and boys and fellow males (some even World Leaders no less) simply reinforce the bad behavior, how do you teach your son to get his freakin’ finger out of his nose?