"Yo Momma!" At about 3 or 4 years old, he and I were following a small river. He delighted in staying abreast of a stick he had thrown in the water. Pretty soon, we had walked a good distance and I thought we might try walking back to our house. As we walked along the path in silence, he suddenly said,"Yo mama". This is a very young, very innocent Caucasian boy walking along with his great grandfather. I am confident he meant no disrespect to my mother. He didn't know my mother, had never met her and had no way of knowing the words he had heard somewhere on television could be a slur against a mother's purity. You can imagine my surprise at his urban utterance.
Let me tell you...We were trying to find something that might amuse him. How about a tour of the local city waterworks? He has always been fascinated with water flows. He has a Brio water table that gave him great pleasure. He played for hours and then more hours at the Albuquerque Explora! children's museum with their elaborate and fascinating water table. So, we drove over to the water office to see about tours of the works. I opened the front door and this little 3 ft. boy walked in and right up to the receptionist's desk. He said," Let me tell you how this is going to go." I was aghast and the receptionist just laughed at this little squirt using such forceful language. He didn't mean anything by it and had no idea that he was being pushy. We did get a nice tour of the facility.
Who wants the ball? On a recent trip, he demonstrated his complete knowledge of the sound track of the movie "Up". Since we watched it together, either of us will mimic someone tempting a dog with a ball to be thrown, saying," Who wants the ball? Who wants the ball?" We enjoy talking this way at any time and place, whether or not the moment has anything to do with dogs or balls.
Get it? As he has gotten the idea of double entendre, he loves jokes using such things. What was the rating of the recent pirate movie? Arrrgh! After such a joke, he needs to inquire "Get it? Get it?" It is so witty, so clever, laden with so much meaning that he just can't believe that somebody else understands the full impact of humor, the similarity between an R rating and the pirate's exclamation. Get it? Get it? He doesn't go any further with his inquiry and asks for no elaborate proof or explanation of your grasp of the humor (?).
Mom, I've been ... I read a very interesting article in Time about the usual training for kindergartners in France in area of eating. They go out of their way, at least by our standards and practices, to introduce the children to good eating and an advanced menu. So, when we were on our way to the farmers' market the other day and he seemed bored, we invited him to come with us. He is beginning to be brave enough to try some of the more exotic foods we recommend. He was intrigued by the spring rolls being cooked on the spot. We bought one and I took a bite. He tried to decide what was inside before tasting it. His Nana became impatient with him and said,"Oh, just take a bite!" For once, he actually did. She took a 2nd bite and asked if he wanted another. He said he did. On the way home, I told him he had been training his palate. At home, he leaped out of the car and said,"Mom, I've been training my palate!"
(copyedited by L.S.Kirby)
