|
|
[Previous entry: "A Tale of Two Lawyers"] [Next entry: "Small Victories"]
07/20/2007: "Cue the Music"
OK, it's time to come clean. I know I'm probably risking having Social Services or the Literacy Police or someone like that knocking down the door at any moment by revealing this, but... here goes.
I have not yet read Dessa any books.
This is not because there is any lack of books in the house. No sir! Before the baby was born Dave, my Mom and I went to the Scholastic warehouse just down the freeway and bought a plethora of tomes. This is one of the major perks of being a teacher - the Scholastic warehouse sales. Twice a year there are major deals to be had! We got items appropriate for babies ("I Love You Always and Forever", "C is for Cat", etc) and for an older child ("Bats at the Beach", "Bad Kitty" - the former is beautifully illustrated and fun and the latter is freaking hilarious).
But since Dess was born? I haven't read them to her.
A lot of that has to do with the fact that she's squirmy and has virtually no attention span (what's wrong with her!?). Sitting in the glider holding her and holding a book open at the same time is a little tricky. Plus, I know we'd never actually get through any of the books yet and if there's anything I hate it's breaking off in the middle of a story arc, even if I do know how it ends (spoiler alert: the little red hen gets all snotty and eats the damn bread herself). Dessa's only been able to see more than a foot in front of her for a little while now and I suspect the illustrations would be lost on her in any case.
None of this is to say that I haven't told her stories, though. Because I have. They're just... odd stories.
It all started with Dave, as so many things of this sort do. One day he was holding the baby and said to me, "I guess we should start reading to her, huh?"
"Yeah," said I. "Or at least tell her stories. It's the language that she needs right now. It can come from a book or not for a while."
He gazed at his daughter thoughtfully. Then, with a dramatic flair that will never come out in writing as well as it did in reality, he dove in to his first story telling foray.
"Now. This is the story of a man named Jed. A poor mountaineer - he barely kept his family fed!"
I cracked up.
It's a handy trick, though, these Sherwood Swartz-ian TV intros. I admit to dramatic recitations of the Brady Bunch theme at 3 in the morning because it's all my brain could come up with. I've bemoaned the fact that I didn't watch "Gilligan's Island" because I don't know all the words. When I try to tell that one, it comes out badly ("Now sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip. That started... on a tropic isle? Aboard... a tiny ship! Hmmm... I'm not sure it started on an isle. But there was a ship. A tiny ship! The mate was a... kind of sailing man. The skipper... something sure. Then something happened and they went... on a three hour tour!")
Look, it's not like Dessa knows the words!
There really aren't enough story songs, though. Most shows don't have theme songs with words that actually tell a story and others are hard to hum (can you hum the theme to "Magnum P.I."? I dare you. Also, if you're going to try it, call me so I can listen to you and laugh and laugh). "The Jetsons" works, but it's short. Ditto "The Flintstones". I'm happy to sing to the baby, and lots of TV theme songs work for that, but I'm really trying to focus on talking to her these days.
So it's a limited field. Never fear, though, because there are other stories to be told. As I told Dave, it's the language that she needs to hear - the content is pretty inconsequential these days. Sometimes I'll just recount her day to her. I know she was there for all of it, but she has the memory of a goldfish so I tell her everything she did. Yesterday I did that while she was having a bottle and she listened so intently that she forgot to eat after a minute. Sometimes I tell her the story of Daddy and Mommy buying our house (a more interesting tale than you might think, since I was in Africa when escrow closed). Other times I'll recount trips I've taken, or what we're doing tomorrow or anything else I can think of.
Lately I've started a very long, continuing story that I'm really enjoying telling. It's a story I know very well and it's long enough to take care of many a sleepless night feeding. See if you recognize it...
"Once upon a time, on the day of his daughter's wedding, Vito Corleone was granting favors to all who came to see him..."
My father would be so proud. Dessa? She doesn't seem too sure...
Replies: 4 Comments - Read 'em!
on Monday, July 23rd, Jeannie said
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan
The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star
The professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligans Isle.
So this is the tale of the castways,
They're here for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.
The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In their tropic island nest.
No phone, no lights no motor cars,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
It's as primitive as can be.
So join us here each week my freinds,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven stranded castways,
Here on "Gilligan's Isle."
I live to please. :)
on Monday, July 23rd, Jeannie said
Aaand, I just had a flashback to another tv show theme "song". Remember this? "The X-Files is a show/With music by Mark Snow...."
on Monday, July 23rd, Kristin said
The X-Files is a show
With music by Mark Snow
And Mulder's in the know
And Scully's got that glow...
I remember it. Hell, I sing it in my head every time I watch the show!
on Tuesday, July 24th, Zarah said
so i decited that i need to come down there and take some good pix of my cousin cuz this one just isn't gonna do :P xoxo
|
Notes from a Yarn Hacker
