Friday, June 10, 2005

Making Maps

I know it gets tedious for everybody if I keep talking about my kids. And I won't. But I just have to get down what Eliot said the other day, because this kid is seriously strange.

He's 5, he's never bored, he never stops talking, he's very obscure, and he's lately into cartography (map-making).

So he made a map the other day (two pieces of printing paper taped together, with the map extending over both) and proceeded to tell Scott and me all about it. Apparently every place on the map had a corresponding story. And apparently Eliot has been to places and seen things of which I have no idea. But that's not really surprising.

What was a little bit surprising (or funny, anyway) was part of one of his stories. He pointed to a place on the map and told us it was a "Book-tionary", which is a place like a library, but also a kitchen with dining tables. He said,

"I didn't know what a book-tionary was, but then I went in and 'book-tionary' was written on the blackboard and there was a table and I said, "Oh, now I know what it is! Because a 'nary' is a place that you eat, so a book-tionary is a place you eat where there are books."

hmmm. But it gets weirder. He entered a room at one of his buildings (I think it was a school) and, well, here is how Eliot told it:

"I went in and there was someone named Lean there. And I said, 'No way! Your name can't be Lean! I was just trying to invent someone named Lean before I came here!'"

When I asked him what he meant, "trying to invent", he said,

"Well, I wanted to make up someone named Lean, but I just couldn't. Then I went in the room and there was someone named Lean! So I told him he had to change his name to Stick."

Should I be worried???

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you remember C.S.Lewis's world of Boxen from 'Surprised by Joy'? Now there was a kid to be worried about :)

Rachael King said...

I haven't actually read "surprised by Joy" (Gasp!). I know, I know. I've read so many of Lewis' essays and lesser known works (wait, did he have any "lesser known works"?). I've read several books multiple times, but I've yet to read "Surprised by Joy" and "The Great Divorce". I'm saving them like a fine wine for a special occasion. ;)

Rachael King said...

Funny, though, when Lewis was about Eliot's age he changed his name to Jack. Wouldn't answer to Clive anymore (imagine that), even to his mother. That is something Eliot would do. Last summer we visited Eliot's cousin, Hailey, in Colorado and he told her, "Your name is Hailey, but I call you Karate". And He literally called her that all week.

While Eliot was telling the story of his map the other day, Scott said, "Well, it looks like there's finally a novelist in the family."