4

My son’s eyebrows met in the middle as his upper lip disappeared beneath the lower.  “The library?” he asked.  His tiny nose scrunched the way it always does when he knows the answer is no.

I shook my head. My boy is now on his 264th guess, give or take. “Nope,” I said, “try again.”

“Ummmmm…” he elasticized the sound until it was almost at a chant. “Are we going to Disneyland?”

I could say that the guesses were growing outlandish, but a few predictions back he went with Las Vegas and there were definitely no plans of crossing any borders.

“Is it the park where there is the statue of the tall, tall man?”

I said “No,” but that particular prediction saw me scooping up my son, spinning him around, and tossing him on the bed for a torrent of tickles.  “Guess again.”

The tall, tall man is none other than the 16th president of the United States, Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe happens to have a statue sitting at the entrance to a park we haven’t even breathed near for the last two years.

“The garbage dump?”

“He wishes,” I thought while shaking my head.

“The beach?”

“Not quite, buddy.”

By this time, my boy has been guessing for almost an hour and I’m honestly shocked he hasn’t yet nailed it. The answer is the movies to which he has already been handful of times. That’s more than I can say for Texas, the Island of Sodor, or “Dinosaur Missouri,” all which add to the sum total of never.

“Saturn?” his voice hit a pitch that let me know that he knew the precise giddiness of his guess.

“You finally got it!” I said.

“No,” My soon shook his head and fell into a fit of giggles. “We can not go to outer space.”

Surprisingly, he never did get it, but that’s not what this story’s about. He was undaunted no doubt, but the reason I’m relating this tale is because I was stricken by the wide reach of my little man’s recall.

If my boy can so fluidly draw memory of the park with the tall, tall man, even though we haven’t stepped foot in the shade of that American giant in half a preschooler’s lifetime, then there are a hundred million other moments inside the deepest trenches of his mind, waiting for resurrection.

I can’t control every machination of my children’s lives, nor would I ever want to.  They will choose what to make and who to make it with.  They are with me now though, and most of their minutes fall within my orbit.  I must make sure I manage all that rolls before me.

Sean Platt is a dad and a ghostwriter for hire who also tweets.

4 Comments


  1. Thoroughly enjoyed your piece and am often struck by the simple truth it conveyed. What an enormous responsibility and privilege to be able to manage the short number of minutes that “fall within my orbit”. My oldest is about to be 11, and I see the horizon approaching. Thanks for your words.


  2. Thoroughly enjoyed your piece and am often struck by the simple truth it conveyed. What an enormous responsibility and privilege to be able to manage the short number of minutes that “fall within my orbit”. My oldest is about to be 11, and I see the horizon approaching. Thanks for your words.


  3. New Yorkers,
    On Father’s Day,
    Share an hour of Great Music and Fabulous Refreshments!
    Cupcakes by CupcakeStop.com
    LINKIDS
    An Innovative Musical Show for The Entire Family
    A Family of Four Pays Only $55.

    Happy Father’s Day!

    Instead of attending a baseball game or spending an afternoon bowling this year , New York fathers can share a wonderful music experience and enjoy light refreshments with their families. Join Link Ensemble for a hilarious, educational and totally unexpected musical journey. Kids of all ages will enjoy the hilarious Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry as he presents the great chamber works of the twentieth century A group of four can see LINKDS, the family show presented by Link Ensemble on June 21st at 2 pm at the Tenri Gallery, 43A West 13th Street for only $55. That is the price of a single upper deck ticket Yankee Stadium .

    Link Ensemble and Rami Vamos created a production giving children the rare opportunity to experience the music of their time – including lots of audience participation in an hour-long performance. LINKIDS steps out of the ordinary repertoire to invite children to taste the music of Ravel, Bartok, Messiaen, Harrison and Reich as they sample fantastic snacks. So,come in and hear the unexpected combinations of voice, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, piano and percussion and meet Pierrot (Lunaire) at Tenri Gallery, a wonderful, intimate space.

    Tickets are usually $17.

    However, a special Family Discount is available. Only $13.75 per ticket when four or more tickets are ordered (by phone only). Call 212 868 4444 – Don’t forget to use the special code – FAMILY.

    Reserve your tickets today. Space is limited!

    more about LINKIDS
    Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry, the imaginary composer, thinks he is a musical genius. He looks and dresses like Mozart but lacks basic skills… Each Schmutzinberry program is an entertaining event that involves live acting, live music, and of course plenty of audience participation. Every time his feathered quill touches paper, the musical ensemble sounds out his ideas… no matter how many amusing mistakes he makes. When Wolfgang encounters a problem young audience members cannot help him with, he travels back and forth in time using his secret note combinations which will take him anywhere: Wolfgang has been back in time for composition lessons with Beethoven, Brahms, even rock legend Edgar Winter. in this new show – Schmutzinberry will learn about contemporary music through musical experts from Schoenberg, Ravel, Bartok, Messiaen, Harrison, Reich and Babbit and will learn together with the audience about the journey of chamber music in the twenty first century.

    LINKIDS
    Schmutzinberry meets Pierrot
    Sunday, June 21, at 2:00 pm
    Tenri Gallery
    43A West 13th Street
    Tickets – $17 – http://www.smarttix.com or call 212 868 4444.LINKIDS Eblast draft1 – Google Docs
    Special Family Discount – Pay only $13.75 when you order at least 4 tickets. This offer is available by phone only. Call Smarttix
    at 212 868 4444


  4. New Yorkers,
    On Father’s Day,
    Share an hour of Great Music and Fabulous Refreshments!
    Cupcakes by CupcakeStop.com
    LINKIDS
    An Innovative Musical Show for The Entire Family
    A Family of Four Pays Only $55.

    Happy Father’s Day!

    Instead of attending a baseball game or spending an afternoon bowling this year , New York fathers can share a wonderful music experience and enjoy light refreshments with their families. Join Link Ensemble for a hilarious, educational and totally unexpected musical journey. Kids of all ages will enjoy the hilarious Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry as he presents the great chamber works of the twentieth century A group of four can see LINKDS, the family show presented by Link Ensemble on June 21st at 2 pm at the Tenri Gallery, 43A West 13th Street for only $55. That is the price of a single upper deck ticket Yankee Stadium .

    Link Ensemble and Rami Vamos created a production giving children the rare opportunity to experience the music of their time – including lots of audience participation in an hour-long performance. LINKIDS steps out of the ordinary repertoire to invite children to taste the music of Ravel, Bartok, Messiaen, Harrison and Reich as they sample fantastic snacks. So,come in and hear the unexpected combinations of voice, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, piano and percussion and meet Pierrot (Lunaire) at Tenri Gallery, a wonderful, intimate space.

    Tickets are usually $17.

    However, a special Family Discount is available. Only $13.75 per ticket when four or more tickets are ordered (by phone only). Call 212 868 4444 – Don’t forget to use the special code – FAMILY.

    Reserve your tickets today. Space is limited!

    more about LINKIDS
    Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry, the imaginary composer, thinks he is a musical genius. He looks and dresses like Mozart but lacks basic skills… Each Schmutzinberry program is an entertaining event that involves live acting, live music, and of course plenty of audience participation. Every time his feathered quill touches paper, the musical ensemble sounds out his ideas… no matter how many amusing mistakes he makes. When Wolfgang encounters a problem young audience members cannot help him with, he travels back and forth in time using his secret note combinations which will take him anywhere: Wolfgang has been back in time for composition lessons with Beethoven, Brahms, even rock legend Edgar Winter. in this new show – Schmutzinberry will learn about contemporary music through musical experts from Schoenberg, Ravel, Bartok, Messiaen, Harrison, Reich and Babbit and will learn together with the audience about the journey of chamber music in the twenty first century.

    LINKIDS
    Schmutzinberry meets Pierrot
    Sunday, June 21, at 2:00 pm
    Tenri Gallery
    43A West 13th Street
    Tickets – $17 – http://www.smarttix.com or call 212 868 4444.LINKIDS Eblast draft1 – Google Docs
    Special Family Discount – Pay only $13.75 when you order at least 4 tickets. This offer is available by phone only. Call Smarttix
    at 212 868 4444

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *