Luke Is A Highway

 

Have you ever noticed the power that movies have over us?  I saw Mr. Spielberg's story about that deep sea man-eater and it ruined me for going anything above knee deep in the ocean.  I can't see a dragonfly without thinking of Evinrude ("The Rescuers," anyone?).  Mr. Snark and I cannot go to a wedding without him leaning over and running the lines spoken by "The Impressive Clergyman" from "The Princess Bride."  For Y1, the movie of his childhood was "Spiderman." He had pj's, tee-shirts, pencils, tennis shoes, goggles, gloves, bath soap and action figures (hard plastic and foam stuffed with cloth cover.  Technically, that's a doll, but when you have boys, they are action figures.)   For Y2, it was "Cars."

When he saw it in the theatre, he ended up sitting on the floor.  Why?  1)  He's Y2...and his drum beat strikes a different rhythm.  2)  He was mesmerized by the floor lights and just HAD to touch them.  3)  Letting him sit on the floor was the ONLY way anyone in the theatre was going to be able to watch the movie in peace.  So he sat on the floor, next to my seat...touching the little light strip...and was completely enraptured.  We all enjoyed the movie...saw it several times, actually.  We bought the soundtrack and enjoyed listening to it as we went hither and yon.  Y2's favorite track was the main theme..."Life Is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts.

We happened to be in K'ville visiting Mr. Snark's folks.  Peepaw (FILove) was quite impressed with Y2's vocal stylings and decided to put the boyo on tape.  Tape as in reel to reel.  Peepaw was a musician and had the set up for making recordings.  He had even figured out how to use the computer with the old school equipment.  There's a gold mine of homemade recordings...some of them far more serious than others...in the basement at MIL's home.  With Peepaw in Heaven, being able to throw a reel on the machine and hear his voice is a wondrous thing.  He knew what he was doing and he also knew that our boyos would do just about anything he asked.  So he asked and Y2 agreed.  The rest of us stayed upstairs and let Peepaw work his magic.  It didn't take long.  Pretty soon, we were summoned to the basement to hear the results.

Listen to this!  (Click on the blue arrow and then click open.)

Pretty good, huh?  And pretty hysterical, too!  There's all this random stuff in there...he read the date off a poster hanging on the wall, he talked to Peepaw, something about "fluffy socks", which to this day, we're still not quite sure of the meaning.  Listen close and you'll hear him trying to sing harmony to his own lead...you'll hear him sing various guitar riffs...you'll hear him pick up on some subtle background key changes.  Not sure if most five year old kids would do that...could do that...but ours did and it left us slightly slack jawed.

I guess this post about him and his song is my effort to make him feel just as important and accomplished and loved as Y1.  Right now, the focus on Y1 and his impending commencement is becoming sharper and sharper.  I don't want Y2 to get lost in the pomp and circumstance (pun intended).  He's at a definitive crossroad of his own.  August bring his freshman year of high school.  The game changes...emotionally, socially, academically.   I am so excited to see what comes next.  Being his mama has been a trip like none other I've ever taken.