Joey's Children Wear's Maniacal Hen

Well, boys and girls, it's Classic Post time again. My knee surgery, as I recently wrote, is a week away, and I'm sure when I'm laying around recovering I'll have plenty of time to blog about "new" topics.

In the meantime... here's a scary childhood memory that took place in Teaneck, originally posted in the summer of 2006.


There used to be a store called Joey's Children's Wear in Teaneck, right off of Cedar Lane, next to where Geronimo's is. I believe, if memory serves, it's a gym now. As an aside, did Geromino's used to be Charlie Brown's? Or was there both Geronimo's and Charlie Brown right down there? Is Geronimo's still there? Was Joey's Children's Wear a TBO team?

Anyway, this store Joey's Children's Wear sold... umm... children's wear. When I was real young, my mother would take me to Joey's Children Wear to have me try on and get clothes. My family moved to Teaneck when I was 8, and I think this story happened even before that.

Once when we went, my mother went to the register to buy me some clothes. While I was waiting, I spotted a machine, asked my mom for a quarter, and walked over.

The machine was one of those typical things - an animated bird sitting on a bunch of eggs. You put in a quarter, rotated the handle, and then the hen squawked and flapped its wings and a plastic egg would come out. Inside the egg were things like super bouncy balls, plastic rings, etc...

I put in my quarter and grabbed the handle. Immediately I received a very strong electric shock. I jerked my hand off the handle. Shocked (ho yes), I stared at the machine and walked away towards my mother. She was still at the register.

In my young mind, I wondered if that's what really happened to me. I walked back to the machine. My quarter was still in the slot as I had not rotated the handle yet.

Tentatively, I reached out to grab the handle again, and received another similar shock. Scared and surprised, I walked to my mother's side. She had just finished ringing up my clothes.

On our way out, I told my mother the machine shocked me and explained what happened. I think she was unsure whether to believe me or not. I don't remember well, but I think I told her we should go tell the people at the store. We eventually just left.

A couple of times after that, we were in Joey's, and I could feel the weight of the hen's eyes on me the whole time we shopped around. I'd questioned if I really got shocked, and what had happened to me the last time. Naturally, I was curious to touch the machine again - however, I wound up never again doing so.

To this day, I don't really know if I received an electric shock, and if I did, how was that possible, and how many other kids got shocked. I don't remember much, in general, from my very early years, but this incident I do remember well.

Eventually, Joey's closed down, and as far as I know, we never told the people at Joey's nor did I ever touch the hen. It will be one of those little mysteries of life that remains unsolved.