I love knives. Last week in Lawton, OK, I passed a knife shop on the way into town. I made a mental note. Later that day I was talking with my brother-in-law, Mike May. He had driven down from Tulsa with his wife and three boys to go to Bob's graduation with us. The graduation wouldn't take all day. I suggested to Mike that we could stop by Knife World on our way back to check it out.

Mark, 10, and Major, 9, overheard our conversation. Their eyes widened and they both got excited about going to see some knives. Their mother, Elayna, gave an emphatic "NO!" We would not be taking the boys to any knife store.

The graduation finished by 1:00 the following afternoon. It was a nice day in Lawton and for a couple of hours we occupied ourselves at the hotel swimming pool, a walk to the local Walmart, sipping some sodas. But by 4:00 all of us boys were getting pretty restless. We needed an adventure. I also needed some hey fever medicine. So we escaped for a short drive. Explicit instructions were given. "Do not take Mark and Major to the knife store."

Good thing for me that I don't mind very well. We did try to obey. We even drove the opposite direction on Cache Road. But we ran out of things to do. Westbound on Cache wasn't very interesting. We found ourselves drawn to the knives. It didn't help that the little boys asked to go there. And they repeated the request about every 15 seconds. Boys are like that. They didn't seem to have any fear of their mother.

We saw some cool knives. The most impressive were a selection of custom knives made by a local artisan. I wanted one. Okay, several. We hefted a few of them. One knife had been pounded through a quarter inch of plate aluminum. Not a scratch. Mark and Major each picked out a knife. They begged. They pleaded. They promised. We were not stupid enough to give in. "You will have to ask your mother," was all Mike could say.

Back at the hotel all of the discussion turned to that cool knife in the plate aluminum. Mark and Major told the story very enthusiastically. Elayna sighed and looked, um, upset. She did not act surprised, however. The next two days were filled with enthusiastic promises by two young boys about how they would not cut themselves or each other. They would be very careful. The emphatic "no" from their mother began to change.

Then, something fun happened. We stopped by Bass Pro Shop - Outdoor World on Saturday afternoon. It is a place of wonder for boys of all ages. It reminded me of the trading post in Kittery, Maine, or LL Bean in Freeport, only with a decided bias to the Bass fisherman. A few too many wiggle worms and spinning rods for my taste.

As we drove into the parking lot the boys asked, "are there knives here?" Mike and I assured them that there were most definitely knives at this store. To the right of the entrance is a large showroom and many bass boats. We began there, after a brief stop to get ice cream cones. After a few minutes Mark tugged on my hand. "Are you sure there are knives?"

"Yes."

"Where are they?"

So we decided to stop the tour and go directly to the knives.

Mark found a nice gerber folding knife that he absolutely fell in love with. Major decided to get a Buck knife. I think they made good choices. Elayna seemed less convinced. Mike found a couple of knives that distracted him. Elayna, Major, Mark and I all stood at the counter. We talked. We set rules. And finally Elayna gave me the go ahead to purchase the knives.

Later, as we sat by the golf equipment and waited for Mike, I took the knives out of the packaging and gave them to the boys. We reviewed how to open and close the blades and reviewed this process many times, letting the boys each work with their own knife. We reviewed the rules. Elayna sat and watched. She's the mother of three boys and I think she understands what that means. It means that she will probably never understand her boys. But she knows they need experiences she can't give them and will be experiences that at times make her uncomfortable.

The boys each got a knife. They know the rules and they understand that any infraction will cost them. Elayna and Mike are a bit concerned. But I believe that a boy should have a knife. And getting your first knife should be a memorable experience. I've been told to expect the knives in the mail.............
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