7.15.05

As you can imagine, when the shuttle launch was 'scrubbed' (that's a NASA word for 'to clean a dirty pan') on Wednesday I was pretty bummed. Then there was Universal Studios, which was both a disappointment and a waste of $69 to boot. Let's just hope that disappointment doesn't come in 3's, because I just got home at 1:15AM with my very own copy of the new Harry Potter book VI. And JK Rowling hasn't let me down yet.

While more and more I have tended toward the view that life should be lived day-by-day, I've also come to the realization that looking forward to things can keep life interesting. And so I think that my excitement for this book does more than show that I'm a big geek. It's also evidence that the kid in me isn't dead yet. That the cold, crusty, cynic hasn't been able to exorcise all of my youthful exuberance.

And while we're discussing Harry Potter, I think that all the people out there who think there is anything at all wrong with kids actually wanting to read, should go sit down and shut up. With all the truly terrible and scary stuff going on in the world, the least we can offer kids is a chance to get lost in an alternate reality. In a world where the adults seem to actually have the children's best interest, and not political infighting, in mind. To say that a series of children's books are the problem when people on all sides stand with a straight face and condon killing in the form of a "just" or "holy" war, is not just insane, it's criminal.

Anyone who's taken the time to read the Harry Potter series of books knows that whatever the magic and witchcraft, it represents kind and thoughtful characters; the best of what we have to offer to each other. What more could we ever try to pass on to the next generation.