Reprieve

I can rarely pass through three or four sentences in a reading with Puck at any given point in the day before he has to add two cents. This time, we got into the whole business of man’s fall in the Garden:

“Some people might think they’re gods because they have the body of God, you know?”

“You mean, because man is created in God’s image?”

“Yes, but it is still different, not the same body as God’s, and not holy like God’s. But some people believe they are gods because of that. It’s very sad.”

When we branched off into Afghani wars, I failed to explain “guerrilas” as opposed to “gorillas,” so suddenly Puck found the whole business of jihad to be way funnier that it actually was. When he finally got it, I’m still not sure he actually understood, because:

“Wouldn’t it be funny if there were gorillas, Mom, sitting there and watching with soda and popcorn, watching the guerillas?”

I try.

And while Joe and Jaya were somewhere in Mexico, tt was during lunch and scientific readings that Puck paused me with a new thought:

“You know how really really poor people go to church sometimes?”

“Uh … yeah?”

“Well, don’t you fink they would be really happy during communion?”

This could go on for days. What am I saying? This has gone on for years. I don’t think we’ll ever hit bottom.

Puck took a shower after dinner. It wasn’t long and I heard a heavy fist slamming against the shower wall to get my attention. BANG! BANG! BANG!

“What is it, Puck?”

“WHAT’S A LAWYER?”

Sometimes, I just don’t know where these things come from. Or later, when he asked me:

“What is Aunt Lucia to me? Like, how are we related?”

“Well, she’s my cousin. So she’s your first cousin once removed.”

“She was removed?”