My fifteen-year-old son asked me if I was going in to work during the Thanksgiving break (I have Wednesday through Friday off). I told him that any work I have to do, I'll do from home. If I go into the office, I told him, there will be other people there and I'll get roped into doing more work than I'd planned. "The best way not to get hijacked is to stay off the plane," I quipped.
"Man, don't tell me that," he replied. "I fly to mom's house, like, twice a month!"
"You fly to Oakland, dude. Anyone who hijacks a flight to Oakland has bigger problems."
"True," he nods. "You know who's just asking to get hit? Los Angeles."
Oh, I think to myself, we're gonna have one of THESE conversations now. "There's nothing to hit in Los Angeles," I tell him. "Los Angeles is built out, not up."
"Oh, yeah." (Pause.) "New York!" (Pause.) "Oh, wait--"
"Yeah." I don't know if he heard me over the rolling of my eyes.
"Well, what other city is built 'up?'" (Wait for it.) "I know: Japan!"
I just blinked at him. "I can't have this conversation with you anymore."
It took him another five minutes to conclude that Japan is not a city, but a country. Honestly, my son and I riff like this a couple of times a week, and although they (like this one) might be mildy embarassing for him, I enjoy these conversations for three reasons: he ends up learning something from each of them, they can actually be quite humorous, and he is extremely eloquent and mature when he tries to communicate on a grown-up level.
I mean, there are probably some adults out there that think Japan is a city . . .
Observations, rants, and plausible
deniability from a person who refuses
to be a prisoner of his own world.
deniability from a person who refuses
to be a prisoner of his own world.
The Village
I AM WRITING!
My Screenplay -- Draft Three
I'm currently reading:
On my Kindle 2
I'm listening to:
iTunes Radio
I'm driving:
The Honda FCX Clarity
