Monday, November 3, 2008

Dear Koen,

You turned 33 months old today. So much happened in October that I have to break this letter into sections as I've done in the past. With everything that is happening at work, I'm surprised this letter is going out on time.

STAR WARS!

As you can see from the banner above, last month was the beginning of yet another obsession. However, I'm not to blame for starting it. No, I'm to blame for enforcing it. I'll admit, I may have gotten carried away and now your Mom is upset with me. But I was excited when I came home from work a few weeks ago and you came running out of your room wielding a lightsaber and yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, Look!" A huge grin came over my face and I looked at your Mom and asked, "I thought you wanted to wait until he was 4?" She explained that one of the mothers from your play group gave
it to you because her daughter wasn't going to play with it. I looked at her and the only thing I could say was "Seriously? Dude, it's so on." She just shook her head, knowing that her little innocent boy would soon walk around quoting Star Wars Movie's and all hope for you ever playing with trains again would be lost to the "Dark Side of The Force."

And so it began. You were on your way to learning the true nature of a Jedi Knight and how to use The Force for good
and not evil. Part of your Jedi training is learning and obeying certain rules to owning a lightsaber.
1) You are never, ever allowed to hit the dogs; ever.
2) When battling a Sith, you are not allowed to hit his lightsaber hard; only tapping is allowed.
3) If you break rules 1 and 2, your lightsaber goes "bye, bye." Owning a lightsaber at your age is a privilege.

Every Jedi must be well versed in the Star Wars saga. You must memorize the book, Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide, Special Edition. This training method is strongly enforced because I spent about 45 minutes explaining the entire storyline, including the bios of the major characters. When all was said and done, you looked at me and said,
"What's that mean?"

As you can clearly see, Darth Vader cut off Luke Skywalkers hand because he didn't honor thy father. Now I'm not saying I'd do the same, I'm just letting you know that Luke Skywalker was Bastos (rude) to his Father and Daddy Vader had to enforce that his little boy needed to show Galang (respect).....hahahahaha.....

As much as I love your interest with Star Wars, your Mom and I both agree that you are growing up too fast. There are times when I miss my little boy who once adored Thomas and Friends. Now, you run around asking which Stars Wars character I am and if I'm a good guy or bad guy. Like I said earlier, I am at fault for enforcing the Star Wars craze. Star Wars was Daddy's first movie I saw in the theater. I remember the day your Lolo took me to see it. I came out of there asking questions and wanting to be a Storm Trooper. I didn't want a lightsaber, I wanted a blaster and one of those cool helmets. I told your Mom that I wanted to someday share the joy and imagination of the Star Wars saga with you as soon as I could, but she was right, I should have waited until you were a little older. "Thomas, Diego, GeoTrax, Cars, and Speed Racer; Jedi they are not." Sorry, I couldn't resist one last attempt at talking like a Jedi.

HALLOWEEN

Two weeks before Halloween you told us that you didn't want to be Batman anymore. Instead, you wanted to be Luke Skywalker. Our thought; "sorry kid, we already bought you the costume and you are going to like it." We had to come up with a way to regain your interest in the Cape Crusader. Our solution? Youtube.com baby! While searching the limited video's on Youtube, your Mom came across an episode from the 1960's Batman TV show starring Adam West that is absolutely hilarious (and not in a good way).

After watching that video, who could blame you for not wanting to be Batman anymore. You have to admit, the rubber shark is awesome. I watch Shark Week every year on the Discovery Channel and I didn't know sharks sounded hollow when you hit them? Maybe this is something we can send to Myth Busters...hahahaha...

So I had to pull out the big guns. I needed to show you how I first discovered Batman. I found a video of the intro to Hanna Barberas "The All New Super Friends (1977)." Hanna Barbera cartoons in the 1970's were like John Hughes movies in the 1980's; they helped define my generation; Generation X. When you are old enough, I'll explain what Generation X didn't mean and how your Daddy wants to meet the person who coined the term and have some words with him.

The video worked. You took to it like a Rat on a Cheeto. Ahhh, the power of cartoons. Afterwards, you ran to your room and grabbed your mask and cape and asked for assistance as you transformed into the Dark Knight once again.

Trick or Treating this year was fun but something seemed to be missing. Last year you and Kera were trotting around the block begging for candy from our neighbors. This year you went solo and you definitely didn't mind being alone. That meant acting cute and getting candy all to yourself. You even saw a little boy who dressed like Spiderman and you desperately wanted to go door to door with him. Unfortunately, he was glued to his fathers leg and wanted nothing to do with you. You even posed for him and said "I'm Batman."

Your Mom came up with a great way to make sure you wouldn't gorge on all the candy you received and start your quest for cavities. We told you that after you come home from Trick or Treating you were only allowed to pick two pieces of candy. Next year you will be allowed three pieces because you will be 3 years old (we'll see how long we can play that game with you). The rest would be placed in a pumpkin and left on the door step so while you are asleep, the Great Pumpkin will come and replace the candy with a great prize.

CREATIVITY
Last month wasn't entirely about Star Wars and tricking you to be Batman for Halloween. Your creative side is starting to expand to Mix Media instead of Pen and Ink.

Your Mom hosted a play group and the activity was to create pumpkins. You had the option of using Glue, Paint, Markers, Stickers and an assortment of Eye Balls, Gems, and Feathers to place on your pumpkin.

Decorating the pumpkins was a great hit with the other kid's and most important, you. You really love creating pieces
of art with the same materials and giving them to whomever will display them on their refrigerator. Of all the materials you use, glue is by far your favorite. You can sit there and be content with dripping glue on the surface and add nothing to it. Thankfully, you haven't discovered eating it.

You still have a strong interest in photography. The picture you took of your Mom and I is from a series you call "Family." In this particular series, your brilliant execution of placing your finger over the flash adds to your compositions and the shadow it creates sweeps to the right, grabbing your audiences' attention and having them beg for more, as if they are thumbing through your portfolio.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Last week, I had called to let your Mom know I was on my way home from the office. She informed me that you were shuffling around the living room asking to go skateboarding. Goose bumps covered my arms and a huge grin covered
my face. I didn't hesitate to have her tell you that I would be home in 5 minutes and that I would take you out front to skateboard. Yes, skateboarding was a big part of your Daddy's life "back in the day." However, I won't encourage you to make it a lifestyle like I once did. If ever you hear your Tito Greg, Tito Ray and Daddy ever say, "remember your roots," know it is reference to when we use to shred at contests, and that we helped contribute to the "No Skateboarding" signs posted all over downtown.

Your Mom has been trying for years to get me back on a board. When you are old enough to go to the skate parks, she wants me to go out there with you and teach you some "Old School" tricks. But I should be honest with you, I have no problems training (Kung Fu) twice a week and having someone try and hit me as hard as they can without sparring gear; but the thought of kissing concrete and flailing like a fish on the ground because I didn't land a trick, sends shivers up and down my spine. Daddy is no longer fearless on a skateboard.

Koen, 2008
Setup: Blockhead Deck, Indy Trucks, Spitfire Wheels, Thomas and Friends Gear
Trick: Ollie

Daddy, 1986
Sponsors: Blockhead Skateboards, The Wheel Zone Skate Shop, Go Skate
Trick: Ollie to tail slide, revert off to goofy foot manual

LULLABIES
There were a few times last month when you would wake up in the middle of the night from having sore knees. There was one night in particular that you wanted me to sing the Lullabies I use to sing to you when you were a baby. I will always be there to sing to you, but if I'm not able to for whatever reason, I made you a mix tape that you can listen to whenever you need comfort.

Love,
Dad