Walk the Dog, Rock the Baby

My nephew is twelve and spent the whole summer learning yo-yo tricks from videos. He practiced for three, four, sometimes five hours a day on our back porch, while I was supposed to be babysitting him.

He learned "walk the dog," "around the world" and "rock the baby." Then much harder ones with names like "kwyjibo" and "black hops." The yo-yo flew around him in loops and webs so fast I couldn't follow it.

In August, he entered a regional yo-yo contest at the mall. There were sixty competitors. He performed a two-minute routine to a song he'd picked himself. He was so nervous his hands were shaking before he started. Then the music came on, and he looked like a different kid.

He placed third in the youth division. On the drive home, he held his medal in one hand and his yo-yo in the other and said, "I'm going to win next year." I believe him. I've watched him practice.