We were standing in front of the Chinese House exhibit on the 3rd floor of the Milwaukee Public Museum today. Eric and I were discussing something, what exactly eludes me now. Perhaps how kung fu movies from the 1970s made this type of structure look familiar to us. If not that, no doubt it was something as intellectually stimulating. Eric's young son Colin was busily investigating the Chinese Dog Statues that guard the house; there's one on each side of the doorway.
My conversation died off suddenly as I heard a rattle. Or maybe a rumble. The noise of movement certainly. I looked down at Colin and the Chinese Dog and quickly knelt to investigate.
Some months ago while looking through my archive of saved newspaper articles, I found a few regarding the Museum. One mentioned the Chinese Dogs and that there was a ball in their mouths. The Chinese would rotate them for good luck. After reading the article, I tried to find this but was unable to do so. The mouth was cemented closed. Figuring something had changed between the article's creation and my re-reading of it, I stopped worrying about it.
I was wrong. Now that I was closer to Colin's level I could see how the mouth was structured. It was open, not sealed closed, and the sculpted tongue acted as part of the overall design. There was a gap if I reached back a little, a gap that I could poke my finger into and, lo!, there was a ball that could be pushed around, back and forth. I pushed it, Colin pushed it back to me, and I rattled it back and forth with glee.
The lad is not quite two. I don't think he could grasp how sincere and heartfelt I meant my 'thank you' to him. He had unlocked a mystery for me.
Before you start giving me a hard time about an almost two year old outsmarting me, I'd helped him with the snake button associated with the Bison Hunt diorama on the 2nd Floor about a half-hour before. Clearly he was just thanking me by trading information.
This is a good kid.
No comments:
Post a Comment