When my oldest was a little boy, probably 5 or 6 years old, we would watcch Pee Wee’s Playhose together. He liked the silliness of the whole thing and the constant visual and aural stimulation. I loved the inside jokes aimed at adults adult jokes (does anybbody remember what Jambi said when he goit a pair of hands?). We scheduled our Saturday mornings around Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and in those medieval days, recorded it on the VCR if we were going to be out. This was 31 years ago, folks. we even measured time in ‘Pee Wees’:
Him: “How long until we get there?”
Me: “It’s about 2 Pee Wees”
This was the norm for us. Fast-forward 30 years. Lots of water has passed under the bridge, my oldest has married, divorced, remarried, started a couple of new careers, and I’m inching toward retirement. Pee Wee was pretty distant in the rearview mirror. My wife and I are on a flight to NYC and a family is settling in one or two rows in front of us and their 5 or 6 year old son asks: “How long will we be on the airplane?” Dad answers: “It’s about 2 Mickey Mouses”.I was immediately carried 30 years back in time and in an instant, I traversed all of the joys, disappointments, successes, and failures in my life. Everything that flashed by wasn’t pretty and I wish I had a few do-overs, but I smiled. Some things are universal.
Brain Particles 