Kelly, one of the regular readers of this blog, gave
me an idea last week from a comment she made in response to my post on the O.Henry short story, “The Ransom of Red Chief.”
Her comment was in reaction to the monologue
that O. Henry writes in the voice of the little kidnapped boy called, Red Chief. The rambling nature of a little boy’s disconnected
thoughts reminded her of her son when he was a child, and it reminds me of my
son, Matthew, as well. So I thought it
would be fun to write up a monologue using Matthew’s speech patterns and
interests.
So of course this is fiction, but Matthew either said some of these thoughts somewhere or he could easily have said it. Picture Matthew sitting at the table eating
his favorite meal, raviolis in a butter sauce which since he first learned to
talk he calls “yolies.” He’s sitting
back in the chair with a fork in his right hand and every so often leans
forward to fork a yolie and place it in his mouth, then leans back again, all
the while chatting away while his mother and father try not to answer him.
“I like this. What am I getting for my birthday? Do you like the grey Batman or the blue
Batman? I like the black Batman. You have a cookie on your head. Do angels have lasers in their eyes? Isaiah fell off the monkey bars twice. What would happen if a squirrel stuck his
tail in the water spout? Angelina and Olivia
called me names. I cut up paper with my
scissors at school but you have to be careful not to cut your fingers. Jaden and Luke jumped on me but I pushed them
off. I can’t run faster than a car. You shouldn't touch electricity. Does Jesus love everybody? Even Daddy?
Lightening can kill you. Yolies
are my favorite. You can have a cat or a
dog for a pet but not an alligator. Do
horses lay eggs? What do you get if you
mix purple and orange? I’m going to be a
policeman. Have you ever gone to
jail? Why do monster trucks have big
wheels? The black Batman can fly but not
the blue Batman or the grey Batman. What’s
for dessert? Can x-ray vision hurt
you? Can I have a rocket for my
birthday?”
Hope you enjoyed it. So if you
feel creative, why not try that in the voice of your child at your blog, and
link it back to here.
Very good! He sounds priceless. And smart, if those are some of the things he comes up with! My son's strings of chatter used to be large chunks of dialogue and plots from movies or TV shows he watched. He would tell me about them while I drove. I have to admit, sometimes, I couldn't even follow it and would zone out. Now, though, if he decides to be even slightly talkative, I listen! Not only because he is my son and I think he is funny, smart and interesting, but because as my older ones are becoming adults and moving out, or just are out most of the time, I treasure every minute we have together. I don't think I could ever recreate any of Ben's monologues, as I barely understood them! lol
ReplyDeleteAbout another observation you made in a comment to me, about how my kids treat me as one of them, I was already planning a post about that very thing. :) But I am setting about responding to your comment right now.
"Do horses lay eggs?" is going to have me laughing all day. :-D
ReplyDeleteSo tell us....have you ever gone to jail???????
I've never gone to jail. I've never seen the inside of one except for a museum jail of the wild west era. I was laughing too when he asked a few days ago whether horses laid eggs.
DeleteWell, we've had horses for a long time, so you tell little Matthew that you have it on good authority that horses do not, indeed, lay eggs :)
DeleteLOL, I will. :)
DeleteYes, I could have that conversation. My husband says I have whole conversations in my head and then I make reference to it when I'm speaking to him, who of course hasn't heard the first part of it. Yes, Matthew and I could have a nice afternoon together. Why doesn't he guest post on your blog once in awhile?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. I don't think he quite understands the notion of a blog, but when he does, I will. Thanks Kathy.
DeleteJames Joyce's writings had an element of "train of thoughts" or "chain writing" where one subject links to another. I think your son may well be a famous writer one day.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.