Hiya boys and girls, and welcome today to the playground/pizza parlor/little slice 'o heaven for millions of youngsters around the country, Chuck E. Cheese! Today the beans visit what they politely refer to as "a crack house for toddlers", a brand new Chuck E. Restaurant. (To save face and not get this nice cashier in trouble, we won't mention the exact locale, but I'm sure that if you check your Yellow Pages or with the closest 5 year old, you can probably find out where one is located near you...)

Chuck E. Cheese is best known for their kid-friendly pizzas, extravagant birthday parties, and giant robotic vermin stage shows, which sing and dance on command every few minutes. There are currently about 500 of these thrill-palaces around the country; enough to bring smiles to just about every messy toddler's face out there.

So here the frijoles get an up-close look at a (real) Chuck E. Employee and the animatronic version of Chuck E. Robot, who because he's mechanical has no idea how darn lucky he is to have the opportunity to meet the beans. It's a shame, too -- perhaps if ol' Chaz was to wish upon a star, maybe one day he too can be a real boy.

But never fear, my dear friends and those concerned about meeting the real big cheese -- because by golly, look who the beans just happened to run into while visiting Chuck E. Cheese! That's right, here are our beloved frijoles along with a living and breathing, 5 foot 4 inch tall specimen of a corporate logo rodent. Chuck E. gave our frijoles a big thumbs up, which was twice as impressive considering he only has four fingers on each hand (paw?).

Actually, the beans and Chuck E. get along very well, and we're sincerely thankful for his willingness to be seen with a humble can of legumes. Because...ahem....everyone is a winner a Chuck E. Cheese. (Okay, there. I said it. Now can we have our ride tokens back - please???) Sheesh - there's nothing worse than having your allotted tokens held hostage by a giant smiling mouse.

One of the many fabulous things you can blow all your Chuck E. Tokens on is a sketch photo of yourself, kicked out of a convenient computerized kiosk in only seconds. Why, if you look closely, it almost looks like a personally hand-drawn graphite pencil sketch! (Okay, maybe not. But go with it, all right?) So being ready for their closeup as they are, the beans were more than willing to sit still for the .003 seconds needed to get a good shot of their "good side". In fact, they were so thrilled with this stellar near-Picasso quality drawing that they immediately ordered 1,000 8 x 10 glossy reprints. So now you all know what you're getting for Christmas, dontcha?

Anywho, the beans had a marvelous time in the House of Mouse (or Mat of Rat, depending on your viewpoint), and hope that all of you will pack up the kiddies and haul them down to your nearest Chuck E.'s for a night of family fun. Just don't forget the beans - and your checkbook, if you know what's good for you.