Reality at 9 and a half
Isaac listens to the radio in his room. Plain old FM on a boom-box we bought when he was still in a crib. I love that likes it for its own sake.
Last night he heard Ronnie Dunn’s Cost of Living. He called me in (“come quick, Dad”) because he guessed it was John Mellencamp and he wanted to know if he was right. (Good guess: similar vocal style, instrumentation, and content. If John were a new artist today, he’d surely be on country radio, not pop/rock.)
Then he asked why the man doesn’t have a job even though he says he’s good at everything. That was a little tougher. I kept it simple: Sometimes there aren’t enough jobs to go around, even or people who are good at lots of things. He thought about that for a couple seconds, filed it away in his head, and moved on.
I’m glad he asked; it shows he’s listening, and it shows he cares. I’m glad he seemed to understand the answer without being shaken by it. And of course as a dad, I hope he never has to get any closer to it than a moving song on the radio, except when he’s trying to help make things better for people in that position.
Happy Thanksgiving.
