{"id":639,"date":"2016-10-02T14:07:57","date_gmt":"2016-10-02T19:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/?p=639"},"modified":"2019-06-07T15:46:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T15:46:31","slug":"ode-to-kid-thinker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/ode-to-kid-thinker\/","title":{"rendered":"Ode to Kid Thinker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that red button do?\u201d you ask me, tugging on my arm and pointing carefully.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re standing in front of a vintage race car, a powerful, striped beast posing silently for viewing by the quiet masses wandering through the museum**.\u00a0 Looking at it, my mind flies to images of dusty, romantic roads of post-war Europe, where the beast roared to glory in yesteryear.\u00a0 At the same time, your mind lasers in on something right in front of you.<\/p>\n

Inside a slanted air vent on the beautifully curved body panel closest to the door, there\u2019s a small red button.\u00a0 It\u2019s directly visible at about your eye level.\u00a0 I have to bend down to see where you are looking.<\/p>\n

Is there another single soul among the thousands who have traipsed through this exhibit who looked closely enough to notice that little button?<\/p>\n

Now you\u2019ve got me curious, so I want an answer, too.\u00a0 There\u2019s no one around that particular day at the exhibit who can tell us, so I pledge to try other avenues.\u00a0 A little online research a few days later, a couple of email exchanges among friends kind enough to help satisfy the curiosity of a child, and voila!\u00a0 The red button is a \u201ckill switch.\u201d\u00a0 It provides an alternative way to shut off the engine in a dangerous situation, like a crash.\u00a0 Unsure of the best way to convey this slightly frightening concept to a five-year-old with such a detail-oriented brain, I ultimately relay it through your mother, leaving that discretion in her capable hands.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

But oh, these questions of yours.\u00a0 Maybe I want to get you answers just to keep you talking.\u00a0 In this world of colossal communication overkill, when information is everywhere but genuine conversation so scarce, you are a good talker.\u00a0 In this precious window before you are old enough to turn to the keyboard and screen for all you seek, maybe topics like this will keep you in serious conversation with me.<\/p>\n

Even more, I long for you to believe that your questions count.\u00a0 Asking good questions is a life-changing thing, and every soul needs other ones to take them seriously.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be one of those for you.\u00a0 That\u2019s a gift I can freely give, far more important than anything that could be wrapped in bright paper for your birthday or Christmas.<\/p>\n

Another day not long after our museum trek, you prop your elbow on the edge of the desk in my home office and lean your chin into your palm.\u00a0 The object of your close examination is a round glass paperweight that is performing its office pinning down a messy pile of mail.\u00a0 The heavy, grapefruit-sized orb is a souvenir your mother brought me from a beach trip back in her pre-teen years.\u00a0 It contains a little ocean scene, with dolphins leaping over waves and seagulls soaring above them, all frozen inside the clear glass.<\/p>\n

I am touched that you don\u2019t ask to pick it up, but ready to say it\u2019s OK if you do.\u00a0 You are busy with deeper thoughts.\u00a0 Soon, they come.\"paperweight\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat holds those fish up in there, Evie?\u00a0 There\u2019s no string or anything holding them up while they are jumping.\u201d<\/p>\n

I open my mouth.\u00a0 Then shut it again.\u00a0 It\u2019s powerfully tempting to make up something that might make me sound really smart, but it\u2019s not in me, not with this kid.\u00a0 Better a half-answer, or more research.\u00a0 Along with a deep breath, I take a lame stab:<\/p>\n

The clear glass around them is holding them up, Buddy.\u00a0 I think they put the fish in there when they first pour the glass and it is still hot and forming in the round shape.<\/p>\n

Naturally, this simply ignites more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey pour the glass?\u00a0 When it\u2019s hot?\u201d\u00a0 Before I can fathom where to go next, your sister interrupts to tell you to come have a snack.\u00a0 And we shift ho for the kitchen, because even curiosity is trumped by the prospect of a popsicle.<\/p>\n

But the next time you visit, you drift in to my office again.\u00a0 To stare at those leaping dolphins.\u00a0 And think about it some more.\u00a0 I can see I need to find a glass artist somewhere to get more details.\u00a0 So we can keep talking about it.<\/p>\n

__________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

**The race car that prompted Buddy\u2019s question was on display at Bellissima!<\/em><\/strong>, a magnificent collection of vintage Italian cars at Nashville\u2019s Frist Center for the Visual Arts.<\/a>\u00a0 If you are in Nashville and haven\u2019t seen Bellissima! <\/em><\/strong>yet, this week is your last chance, as it closes soon.\u00a0 The photos shown are also from the exhibit.\u00a0 Thanks to PR Director Ellen Pryor and Curator Ken Gross for answering Buddy’s question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat\u2019s that red button do?\u201d you ask me, tugging on my arm and pointing carefully. We\u2019re standing in front of a vintage race car, a powerful, striped beast posing silently for viewing by the quiet masses wandering through the museum**.\u00a0 Looking at it, my mind flies to images of dusty, romantic roads of post-war Europe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grandkids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}