From the Back Seat (November 2015)

My favorite Russian is learning the difference between fiction and nonfiction literature. This morning on the way to school, he interrogated me on all the book titles of which he could recall and I helped him sort them into the appropriate category. He then proceeded on to television shows, then things people had told him. When we got to the urban legend of there being crocodiles in the sewer, I sighed and informed him that the concept was undoubtedly fiction. Despite the fact that we were driving in the blinding snow with temperatures hovering at freezing, he wasn’t willing to accept the fact that there were no giant reptiles living in the sewers of Denver, Colorado.

 

This is why I pity the people that try out reason my son:  “Mom, is Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs a fiction or non-fiction guy?” I explained that Mike Rowe was a real person not just a character on a tv show. The voice in the back seat then suggested that we call Mike Rowe and ask if he thought there were crocodiles in our sewer. I reiterated my views on reptiles in the snow. The response was “Maybe we can send an email and invite him for a cup of tea and a cracker, to be polite, and then he could look in our sewer for a crocodile.” At this point, I said “Sure, we can give that a whirl.”  This is why it might be MANY YEARS before we give this child open access to the internet.