A Young Carleton Fisk, In Living Wax

Today, Daniel participated in a highly unusual presentation, undertaken by his class.  They staged an event where each child took on the dress, style, etc., of the celebrity of their choice and posed, stock-still, in completely character, lined up in a "wax museum" display.  I made the hajj at lunchtime to see this very special, very temporary museum exhibit, driving up to Daniel's school, where it was staged within his classroom.

When I got to the front desk, Debbie, the receptionist, knew why I was there, and told me it was taking place in his classroom.  However, I couldn't get anywhere near the classroom itself, for there was a long line of grown-ups waiting outside it, stretching at least a third of the way down the corridor.   Apparently, the exhibit was being shown in shifts, and you had to wait for your group to be allowed in.  Meanwhile, I saw Young Ian sitting on the floor, cross-legged, among his colleagues in his own classroom (the teacher left the door open).  Ian never saw me, and I knew better than to make a noise to attract his attention (I hate school!), but I must say, I liked being in the corridor much more than I would have liked to attend that not-so-fascinating looking pow-wow.

In any case, I talked to Domnic's father and grandparents, who were waiting in line right in front of me, and to the lady in back of me, and eventually we got our turn. As we filed in, a particularly dreamy version of Pachelbel's Canon was being played, and a string of third-graders were strewn around the classroom in a kind of meandering pattern, with grown-ups walking by each one, also in formation, and paying proper time and attention to each "wax" figure.  The exhibited figures had summaries of their life story printed on sheets of paper, set on music stands, next to the "statues" themselves.

I learned all about New Hampshire.  Our "governor" was there, as were a couple of state senators (and one of the state senators was there - the real, non-wax, non-third-grade, actual state senator, who got to pose in a picture with his "wax" counterpart).  Another thing I learned about New Hampshire is that apparently the kids heroes, in this here Granite State, tend overwhelmingly to be athletes.  Which is a learning adventure for me - I learned the names of all kinds of Olympic athletes who were on display, about whom I may never have heard in my entire life if it weren't for the wax exhibit.  Ski Olympians seemed particularly popular, with two boys standing side by side, in full Alpine regalia, both "being" the same U.S. Olympic skier.

And then there  was Daniel himself.  Daniel portrayed the third-grade, wax equivalent of the Red Sox celebrated figure, Carleton Fisk.  Daniel wore his own baseball pants and a Red Sox shirt, and treated this lofty identity with all of the solemnity that it deserved.  As I walked past him, he didn't flinch at all.  I was quite unsurprised to see that he took this exercise so seriously.  I made a couple of faces at him, a couple of inches from his *own* face - yes, I'm a bad father and a bad school-wax-museum visitor - but he didn't take the bait.  Carleton was too busy being Carleton -  and too dignifie - , for Daddy's silly antics.

Of course, the phenomenon of Daniel emulating a Red Sox player is quite the turn of events.  Only a few years ago, both boys were explicitly hostile to the Red Sox - apparently because they felt, as New Hampshire Fisher Cats fans, that any loyalty to any other team but our own would constitute some form of treason.  In fact, they had their own little bit of camp to undermine the stature of the Red Sox within the New England pantheon; they had a mantra, which they encanted at New Hampshire Fisher Cats games, that went, "Red Sox - Stinky Sox!"  I tried to tell them that I was quite sure that the Fisher Cats' stadium was chock-full of Red Sox fans, and that there was no reason to have an antagonism toward them, because there was no chance that the Red Sox would ever actually play against the Fisher Cats because - errr - they belong to different leagues.

But to no avail.  At the time, there was no convincing either lad that the Red Sox were not, in fact, stinky sox.  But today, Daniel was, himself, a Red Sox player, and his portrayal of this unexpected hero was charged with respect and dignity.

It would seem that our little boy has officially moved into the  big leagues.

(February 6, 2015)