I know I should devote this time and space to Finn and his accomplishments this week, but my thoughts are in a completely different place.
Instead of thinking about Finn’s fascination with caterpillars, or his discovery of Face Time video calling on his iPad (he called his aunt and grandparents about a dozen times this afternoon), or even the nasty little cold that he has had most of the week, my thoughts are consumed by little, frivolous, convertible sports cars, preferably red.
Before Finn was born, I had a candy-apple red Miata, which I kind of adored. It wasn’t the fastest or the most stylish car, but is was fun and it was mine. When we found out that we were going to have a kid, I decided to get a more practical car. So I got a four-door hatchback, and eventually got around to selling the Miata, despite Tina’s objections.
I should have listened to my wife, because I really miss having a convertible. So I have decided to buy another one, and I saw a great little two-seater while driving home on Saturday. If it were not a little overpriced, I might have already bought it, but since the price wasn’t exactly right now I am in research mode. It is possible that a week from now I will have a totally frivolous, totally unnecessary car. And I cannot wait.
Finn seemed to think the convertible was damned cool, and as long as he approves I think I am in good shape. In fact, I really love the idea of driving in my 2-seater with Finn in the seat next to me, except I worry that he might grab the gear shift (and I worry that Tina might think that it is a colossally stupid idea).
Finn seemed to think that a lot of things were pretty cool this week, despite having the grossest, runniest nose I have seen in a while. He was so interested in the caterpillar on our porch that we could barely keep him from inadvertently killing it. Similarly, I have never been able to interest him in hearing his grandparents’ voices on the telephone, but video-chatting with them is the coolest thing ever to him. He just finds it endlessly entertaining.
I find it fascinating for a different reason. When I was a kid, we were led to believe that the future would hold many, many technological breakthroughs, including jet packs, vacationing on the moon, flying cars, and video-calling. Just how many of those have come to pass? Exactly one.
Video calls are cool, but let’s be real here. I want my jet pack. I’ll take mine in red.
