"My name is Cindy, and I'm really a 52-year-old research scientist," the young girl said. "You don't look at day over 8," I commented. "And damn it all! This puts a real
quirk in plans," Cindy said as she explained her situation.
Cindy had spent six years developing a miracle chemical that in small doses would make people younger. A teaspoon of it in a glass of grapefruit juice (orange juice
oddly wouldn't work) would make a person feel younger and more energetic, with better muscle tone. All eight researchers who worked on the chemical were to share
the patent, and become rich in the process. But then two things happened.
Cindy's employer was purchased by a mystery millionaire based in an unknown foreign country. And it was discovered that in larger doses, the chemical would turn
people into children. Armed men from the millionaire arrived to seize the chemical. One indicated it would be used by their benefactor to blackmail others by turning
the corporate or even government leaders into children, then get big payoffs for the antidote.
The other researchers blocked the armed men while Cindy scooped up all the chemical in stock and fled. She was chased across the nation until she arrived at the
house that had caught fire -- actually set on fire by agents of the mystery millionaire.
"All the stock of chemical burned with the house, and inhaling it apparently works as well as ingesting it," Cindy noted. "I'm no bigger than an 8-year-old. But you must
have inhaled more. You look only 3-years-old, a regular toddler!"
"What can we do?" I asked. "First we'll need age appropriate clothing," Cindy said. And that was easy enough. We swiped it from a clothesline from a neighbor who
stopped using her clothes dryer because of high natural gas prices. I must say Cindy looked stunning in the pink plaid dress she secured. But I feel uncomfortable in my
purloined duds. Those light blue terrycloth training pants itch big time. And I think I look silly in the red sunsuit with Blue's Clues applique on the front bib covering my
chest.
"Now what do we do?" I asked. Cindy looked serious and said: