There once was a little boy named Bobby. And what a strange little boy he was. On his fifth birthday, his father told him he could have any toy within the walls of Toys R Us. But Bobby, being the strange little boy he was, told him he wanted just five, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. Bobby’s dad was puzzled by this, but he loved his son very much, so he went out and bought five, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye. On Bobby’s eighth birthday, his father told him and told him he could have the new $400 Easton Mako, but all Bobby wanted was eight, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. Bobby’s father, once again, had no idea why Bobby wanted ping pong balls, but to him, nothing was more important than a happy birthday for Bobby. So he obliged and bought the ping pong balls for his beloved son.
Little Bobby was growing up, as all young boys do. He was then almost ten years old! His dad told him he could have anything he wanted from Dick’s  Sporting Goods to celebrate double digits. As usual, Bobby did not accept. What he wanted was ten, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. Bobby’s dad had been expecting this, so he had already purchased the ping pong balls. He dutifully gave them to Bobby on his tenth birthday, and Bobby was a happy as a little boy could be.
Bobby’s thirteenth birthday was approaching, and Bobby’s dad thought it was finally time to get him an iPhone 7S. To his surprise, Bobby declined the offer and opted instead to receive 13, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. At this point, Bobby’s father was beginning to wonder: what the heck is Bobby doing with the ping pong balls? But, as always, the birthday boy ended up with his brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls.
When Bobby got his permit and his sixteenth birthday rolled around, his dad wanted to get him a new Honda Accord. He figured that getting him a car would make up for all of the times when all Bobby got was ping pong balls. But, in fact, Bobby hadn't changed a bit. All he wanted was sixteen, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. His father was shocked. How could any kid turn down a new car? But Bobby’s dad loved him too much to deny him the ping pong balls. So instead of buying a car, he drove down to the dollar store and came back with sixteen, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls.
And so Bobby's mysterious love of ping pong balls continued. On his twenty-first birthday, his dad wanted to buy him his first (legal) beer, but all Bobby wanted was twenty-one, brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. At twenty-five, Bobby got twenty-five ping pong balls. At thirty, he got thirty. And this went on from thirty-five to forty and forty-five to fifty.
Bobby’s dad still had no clue of what Bobby was doing with the brand-new, Stiga ping pong balls. He was entering old age, and he was determined to find out before it was too late. One day, Bobby and his dad were walking to the Capital Grill to get a nice dinner together. Bobby’s dad decided this was the time. As they crossed the street, he asked his son: what have you been doing with all of the ping pong balls I bought you? At this moment, they felt more than ever the strong connection between the two. Bobby turned to him, opened his mouth to speak… and was blindsided by a cement mixer. Bobby’s dad let out a scream of agony, and ten minutes later they were in the emergency room.
For a long while, Bobby lay in that hospital room on the verge of death. He talked to his dad every day, and the two reminisced about their many great times together, like that fishing trip where Bobby caught a shark and that time when they went to Game 7 of the World Series and Bobby got drilled in the face with a line drive on national television.
On the day Bobby died, they both knew it was the last one they had together. It was a sad day for both of them – and Bobby’s dad’s last chance to solve the mystery of the ping pong balls. So Bobby’s father asked him to tell him what he had wanted to know for so long. Bobby smiled and started to speak…

……but no words came out. Bobby died.