Mike hastily promises to take Brick to the book-signing as long as he gets back to the game. When Mike orders Brick to take his hands out of his pockets, he sees that his son is clutching ketchup packets. They’re his security condiments. They soothe him. Brick later tells his dad that he said he likes basketball because he likes all words with three syllables, like pineapple...hypnotize...lacerate... Well, you get the idea.

Mike decides to work on something he understands: the lawn mower. He has to get it ready for the Birchwood 500, as he has a bet with a neighbor. The loser has to mow the winner’s lawn for an entire year. Sadly, Mike doesn’t understand the lawn mower any more than he understands his youngest son. But when Brick rattles off the instruction manual, Mike is more than a little impressed by Brick’s photographic memory.