Quick Thinking: Spirit-ism

Spirit Week is coming to an end for my son's first grade class, dear readers. A week filled with pajamas days and field days and favorite animal "presentation" days comes to an end with the day he was looking forward to the most: dress up as your favorite fictional character day.

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SIDE NOTE: START
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Declan's favorite animal is the Elf Owl, by the way. He learned Elf Owls are miniature versions of the species who can be found living in warmer, dryer climates. Most build homes in or around cactus for protection from predators and the elements. 

I tried to convince him some Elf Owls had long blond hair, a quiver on their back and crazy bow skills with the combat ability to single-handedly defeat a Mumakil on the battlefield. (Yes, that's a super nerdy Lord of the Rings reference.)

He didn't believe me.

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SIDE NOTE: END
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True to form, Declan picked one of Marvel's superheroes as his favorite fictional character. But he didn't pick Iron Man. He didn't pick Captain America. He didn't pick Hawkeye. (who would right?) You know who he picked, dear readers? He picked Black Panther. 

That's right.

Black. Panther.

A young "white boy" who enjoys watching NASCAR and riding gas powered four wheelers picked Black Panther as the superhero he wanted to emulate. 

The implications can not be understated. 

We ARE making progress, y'all. The world we live in today is far more diverse than any before. And that diversity is being embraced by some. 

The tragedy, of course, is it also proves that racism is learned. It's taught by society. And his youthful color blindness will be challenged as he grows up in a society too focused on the things that make us different -- like the color of our skin. 

I'm super proud of my son's choice. And of him for choosing it on his own. I hope his spirit of seeing merit in people -- fictional or not -- continues to be color blind. 

I know mine does.

Because I LOVE Black Widow. 

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Quick Thinking
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-- The Red Sox 10-2 start is a historic best for the franchise.

-- But like I told all my high school girlfriends: it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

-- Speaking of the Red Sox, did anyone see the two bench clearing brawls they had a few nights ago with the rival New York Yankees?

-- The boys of summer, indeed.

-- Always makes me wish baseball's "unwritten rules" included only WWF style wrestling moves were allowed when there is a fight.

-- Seeing a Macho Man style elbow, drop kick or suplex would be better than all those arm-flailing-no-punches-really-landed tussles we usually bear witness to.

-- OH, YEAH!

-- Except, there was that one time... 

-- A recent happy hour session with some colleagues resulted in a risque Q&A about those with menage a trios experience. My response when the question landed on my lap earned me the Quote of the Week: "Does a dog and peanut butter count?"

-- Good dog.

-- Speaking of animals, if reincarnation is a thing I want to come back as a flying bird.

-- Any flying bird.

-- Think about it. Birds can fly, have amazing eyesight, get houses and restaurants built and hung in trees for them by human strangers who want to "watch" them, have good golf scores named after them, never go bald and get to shit literally on anything or anyone they want.

-- No wonder they're always singing and chirping.

#birdsarechirpin

-- Actually, who am I kidding?

-- I never had any girlfriends in high school.