Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Childhood Memories


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This is Tall Son in kindergarten. Actually this is how Tall Son saw himself in kindergarten. Never mind that he was a skinny kid and better looking than this. It seems that he believed he and his father were both fat. This round rendition of himself, along with other of his drawings, was on display at his school's open house. [Here I must apologize for not having the pièce de résistance from that night.]

As Tall Son escorted me around his classroom, pointing out his work, I noticed a group of whispering parents in front of a bulletin board. "What are they looking at?" Whatever it was, I could tell by their hushed tones and facial expressions, that it was controversial.

"They are probably looking at my cat," Tall Son said matter-of-factly.

I inched closer and sure enough there was a large, skillfully executed drawing of a gray cat, standing on its hind legs with its fore paws in the air. But wait; this was no ordinary cat. It had two ample, purple human-like breasts, of which it seemed quite proud. And the signature, most legibly written, was my son's. "What kind of parents must this kid have?" I overheard. With that, Tall Son and I were out the door in search of punch and cookies.

While I was tucking him into bed that night I said, "That was a well done cat but why the large purple breasts?"

"So everyone could see them."

"Well it worked."

I never had the nerve to ask his teacher why she displayed the cat. Perhaps her answer would have been the same as Tall Son's. Or maybe she felt that Lincoln, Nebraska needed
shaking up.

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