Dad Entry #129

We enjoyed a severe thunderstorm today. Before the downpour, we watched a wall of clouds approach. They looked thick and dark. Since I fancy myself smart and eloquent, I said, "Those clouds look thick and dark." Michael said, "Yeah, they're cumulonimbus clouds." I said, "Oh, sure, rain clouds." Michael said, "Well, no, you can't call them rain clouds because cumulonimbus also produce hail, sleet, and snow. And tornadoes. And lightning. Did you know lightening is hotter than the sun, Dad?" No, I didn't know that. How the hell did scientists figure that out, anyway? And what the hell is a coolio-whatsit cloud again?

I'm super-happy Michael's such a curious and bright kid. He's ebullient about learning! And effusive about sharing it! There are hints here, of course, but I absolutely never mock him. The more intellectual, learned, scholarly, sponge-y, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Let's be honest; I'm a nerd too. But I will always encourage physical pursuits and challenges, also. For example, I don't think Leonardo Da Vinci was much of an athlete. What does this have to do with anything? Well, to me it has to do with everything, literally, as in the definition of a Renaissance man. Da Vinci was a stunning artist, painter, sculptor, musician, mathematician, scientist, engineer, architect, botanist, inventor, anatomist, geologist, and writer. Great. But could he play ball? Did he step away from the easel, from the Mona Lisa or Last Supper, and go jump in a ball game? If not, frankly, this egregious deficiency calls into question his universally accepted status as a Renaissance man. Not cool, Leo! Historians might disagree with me, but they probably aren't obsessed with sports either; they're flawed, also. Anyway, Michael's smart and I love discussing things with him; I love hearing about his latest interests and reading material. Megan picks up on the vibe, too. Like me, I think she'll benefit from having a whiz for an older sibling. Michael crosses the 'showing off threshold' on occasion (e.g. cumulonimbus), but it doesn't bother me. Although, following our exchange about the clouds, I couldn't help but think of a scene in "The Breakfast Club"...

Johnson / Michael: "Did you know without Trigonometry there'd be no engineering?"
Bender / me: "Yeah, well without lamps, there'd be no light!"

Megan and I played Hangman the other day. Hangman is a Wheel-of-Fortune-like word-guessing game in case you grew up on Mars, or under strict Sharia law or something. Keep in mind, Megan's just learning to read and spell. So she carefully counted out and drew three spaces for letters, before zealously drawing the gallows. She looked pretty bloodthirsty. She smiled and said, "Ready, Dad!" I said, "You're a little too excited to hang me, I think, Sweetheart." I decided I was up against a three-lettered noun, so I guessed A. There was, indeed, an A, right about where I expected it, in the middle. I figured it wasn't too early to sandbag, so I asked for a Q, U, I and whatever else didn't feel right. Megan merrily went about drawing my hanging corpse. Then I threw a T at her. She sucked air through her teeth and grimaced, confirming my hunch the word was almost certainly a common pet, furry and feline. She wrote in the T, after the A, but then looked up, still bright-eyed and hoping for victory! Awesome. I picked more incorrect letters until I lost. "It was cat, Dad," you missed it! Megan was genuinely pleased she had 'stumped' me.