Classics

To my son Tommy,

I make a bunch of references to what I consider classic movies and classic music. I often wonder if you will understand any of these references or go back and spend the time to watch and learn from the old movies. I wait for that point where you are watching Toy Story 3, and Buzz is telling the prisoners if they don't follow the rules they will spend the night in the box, and you will realize it has all been said and done before in movies like Cool Hand Luke. But if the past week has been any indication of how you receive classic movies, I really don't believe there will be any difficulties in translating my classic references.

We recorded on our DVR The Wizard Of Oz from public television and after a little prodding I got you interested in the movie. At first your mother and I were thrilled that a movie, that captured our imagination and still makes us feel young at heart, can have such an impact on you. You would yell at the screen telling Toto to run back to Dorothy when he escapes from the basket and you would run around the living room following an imaginary yellow brick road. You keep arguing with us convinced that it is a lollipop jail because you have no idea what a guild is. You would explain who is bad (wicked witch of the west) and who is good (Glenda which you call a princess rather than a good witch) and who is behaving badly but really is good (like when the cowardly lion tries to scare everybody with his first impression) and you would sit mesmerized and watching the show in awe sponging in a classic story like sucking the marrow from a bone. Of course all this was really cute the first ten times we watched the movie this week. And now that we are on to thirty plus times...well it is still cute but it might be wearing thin. Somewhere over the rainbow we will have to find another classic movie to focus on and do it soon. I am thinking I can hook you on The Swiss Family Robinson next.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo