Ussins

I took Mago for a hike up to the mouth of a canyon with surrounding high, spectacular, otherworldly surreal cliff walls early yesterday morning. On the way back down the canyon mouth as he heard some echoes in the canyon I realized I could show him how to echo his voice through the canyon walls – so I bellowed some two-tones and shouted “Echo!” etc., all of which we could hear bouncing back this way and up the other way, back and forth along canyon walls, quite loudly and clearly (especially lower pitches). I explained how the mountain bounces the sound back, and I think I may have said something to the effect that the mountain “says” the same thing back – an idea Mago picked up on and elaborated on, as it implies the mountain has a voice, and things that give you a voice.. He tried making an echo himself, and got it to work sometimes, after which he’d exclaim:

“I made the Daddy Mountain talk!”

He spoke of trying to get the Mommy Mountain to talk, too – which I explained we couldn’t make happen without Mommy here.

I realized we’d taken a long detour that had to be longer, as I had left the stroller at one fork of the path and accidentally came down another – and had to lead Mago through so many brambles and trees to get back to it – through which he made exaggerated imitations of my huffing and puffing. Getting the stroller again and traveling back down further, Mago tried to make an echo with the canyon walls increasingly out of range for it, and my explanations that they were too far away didn’t deter him. That same day in the evening I took him outside to look at the magnificent cliff wall facade (in magnificent yellow and blue-gray light/dark contrasts from light coming across the other end of the valley), he bellowed at it – mistaking echoes off nearby houses for the mountain’s speaking back – and wouldn’t be deterred that this was no mountain echo – again exclaiming he’d made the Daddy Mountain talk.

I took him for a walk late two nights ago (no, not anywhere near as late as I’m writing this entry). We’re up on a bench, or in the foothills under mountains. Obscured by houses in front of us but down in the valley to the far south there were four strobe lights swirling about in tandem, spreading their beams of light high up and across the sky in a swoop far outward, then around again and joining in to one brighter beam for an instant, then spreading again, and so on. Mago liked these, and I thought I’d explain them to him.

Me: “Way back behind those houses and down in the valley, there are four robot arms shining those lights. The arms swoop around like this” (swooping my arm) “.. and it makes the lights shine around the sky. They spread out and then come back together. They’re saying ‘come here, we have something to sell’ – or that’s what the people who are shining the lights would say if we went there.”

This seemed to satisfy his curiosity about them, and he blathered about other things and I joined him until suddenly he was talking about “powers”, and I wasn’t quite following him. I said “What?” and he pointed to the strobe lights in the sky over on our left –

Mago: “You can see their powers. Those are the robot powers.”

I was beside myself when he said this – I don’t think he’s never seen Strong Bad*, I don’t know where he picked up the idea of power as light, but it works alright – however, he wouldn’t be dissuaded that these were simply lights in the sky – in between laughing I tried several times to clarify to him that they are just lights – but he corrected me, no, those are robot powers, and you can see the robot powers.

Some while later I gave him the noun for it – strobe lights [whoops!  That should be search lights]. That seemed to change his mind on the matter (not that I would necessarily want his mind changed!) – he began using that term. Apparently you’ve got to give him the most solid noun possible – “light” is still too abstract; “robot powers” is, uh, more accessible.

*..and if so, are you some kind of robot? And if so, what kind of powers do you have? Do you use them for good, or for awesome?

..

Her name is Yoshimi
she’s a black belt in karate
working for the city
she has to discipline her body

..

‘Cause she knows that
it’d be tragic
if those evil robots win
I know she can beat them..

Mago pretends he’s a “Silly Christmas toy.” I don’t know what that necessarily means, but it involves walking around and somewhat robotically waving your arms up and down or around. I asked him if he is a toy soldier and he said “No”.

He pretends he’s a scarecrow. Doing this he stood on the frame at the head of his car bed and said:

(arms raised) The Scarecrow is blessin’.
(lowers arms extended in front of him, palms down) Blessss. (falls down on his bed)

Last evening he said to me while we sat outside:

“A rabbit comes to my window tonight. And he comes down the window. And he raises up on his legs (Mago stands from sitting). And he wiggles his nose. And he wiggles his eyes. And he wiggles his ears. And he wiggles his belly button. And he wiggles his back. And he wiggles his feet. And he wiggles his furry tail. And he goes back up the window. And he goes away.”

This morning he said to me as I put him in his stroller for a walk:

“A owl comes to my window tonight.”