My Son the Attorney

One of the things I find fascinating about children is their distinct personalities and often strange perception of reality. (I say strange, but I mean strange to ME... reality being relative and all...)

My oldest son is 5 and has always had a knack with cutting through to the heart of a matter, slicing away the fat in a conversation to get down to the meat. Up until yesterday I thought he'd be a scientist of some sort because he has a real passion for science and nature. Now, I suspect maybe his talents will lie in the arena of law or perhaps criminal interrogations.

We were in the car driving and somehow got on the topic of riding in pickup trucks. I told him, "When I was a kid nobody really worried about car seats and you could even ride in the back of a truck without having seat belts on." Him being a child of the modern area of supreme safety, he was completely amazed and delighted by this idea. Before he got any bright ideas I added, "Of course, you can't do that now. It's not safe."

"How come?"

"Well," I said, having this conversation perfectly in hand, "because you might fall out, or a rock will fly up from the road and knock you in the head or if you crash maybe the truck would roll on top of you or something." I was concerned about the graphic nature of my explanation but I certainly didn't want to leave any doubt as to whether riding in the back of a truck was a good idea or not.

Julius is a stoic child and difficult to read sometimes. He thought about it for a little while and said, "Did that happen to you as a kid?"

"No."

More thinking and quiet. "Did that happen to someone you know as a kid?"

"No."

A bit more quiet. "Has that ever happened to anyone you ever heard about?"

"Um... no..."

At any minute I expected him to assert to the court that he rested his case and was done with the witness.

You go, Perry Mason!

[photo credit: lambdachialpha]