Fascinating

I grew up watching Star Trek with my dad and two brothers. My mom would leave the room (probably to get some respite or sew me a new dress) while the four of us were glued to the TV for an hour of sci-fi entertainment. Nathan loved all things Star Trek (shh--so did I) but the theme song at the beginning and end were always the highlights for him. He would get as close to the screen as possible, blocking all of our views and evoking loud requests for him to "SCOOT BACK!!!" He'd move about a centimeter and there would be more yelling. We'd finally settle for him moving to the side of the TV in front of the speakers where he'd only be blocking half the screen. He was fine with that because it was all the better to have the music vibrate through him as he waved his arms wildly yet perfectly in tempo with the ballad.

When the actors and their names would start appearing on the screen he'd say, "name! name!" We'd take this opportunity to say, "We can't read it because you're blocking the screen. Move to the side...no way over to the side, and we'll tell you the names." Every one of us had long since memorized all the actors names but that was not the point. He'd move, we'd recite the names, and he'd repeat them as they flashed by.

Nathan can't read but he loves words anyway. He recognizes the ones that are most important in his world. His name, immediate family member names, dodgers, giants, volleyball, the group names of every gospel quartet, the scores in the sports section of the newspaper, and Star Trek.

One day he wanted to buy a Star Trek book. The one he wanted had a great picture on the front but was a 2" thick, small print novel with absolutely no graphics or pictures inside. Just pages and pages of tiny words. It didn't matter to him that he couldn't read it, he wanted it anyway. He must have had enough money, or made some kind of deal with mom, because he ended up buying it and happily taking it home.

A few nights later he came out from his room, sat on the couch, and opened his book to like chapter 3 or something giving the impression that he'd already covered some ground in the book. He sat there scanning each page and then turning them at a pace that made it look like he was taking in every word. We weren't paying much attention to him until he turned another page and, in a soft voice, said, "Fascinating!"

There was a collective gasp. I almost spit my water out. Heads whipped around and eyes focused on Nathan. What in the world?! Can he somehow tell what it says? Are there pictures in there that we hadn't seen before? Did we just witness some sort of strange miracle? What is happening?

All these thoughts are swirling around our heads and are about to come spewing out of our mouths when suddenly a sly grin forms and he starts giggling. He couldn't keep a straight face!! He had totally tricked us! We'd been punked! He had no idea what the book said. No literacy miracle had occurred but a comical one had!  It was as though he was showing us what we look like to him when we read and he was making fun of us. It was absolutely HILARIOUS!

We laughed and laughed and proceeded to re-enact that scene for years to come. He eventually stopped saying it on command but every once in a while he finds himself with a book and he can't resist. He looks to his right and his left to see if anyone is watching and that sly grin starts to form as he utters that famous word...fascinating!

Deal or Never

For several years there was a game show on tv called Deal or No Deal. It went something like this, a number chosen, a human interest story told, and an amount of money offered to the contestant. Then, at the height of the build up, the host would look the contestant in the eye and say, in the most compelling, deliberate, and measured way, Deal (dramatic pause) or No Deal?!? Thus throwing the decision at the feet of the contestant willing her to make the only wise choice. It was now up to the contestant to decipher just what the wise choice actually was. 

The music, the staging, and the lights made this choice feel like everything in the contestant's life had lead up to this moment and that it would define her for all time. This decision could only end in jubilee or in absolute ruin. So it is basically life and death. Oh the drama of it all! People are crying, screaming, and holding each other all while trying to project their choice onto the contestant. Each one wishing he had been offered a huge amount of money but grateful he was not the ones faced with this life altering fork-in-the-road dilemma. 


My brother Nathan can invoke those same emotions and create that same sense of urgency when he makes a sales pitch about eating out. He stands up as though taking the stage, finds a coin, balances it on his thumb in flipping position, and says emphatically, "Deal (dramatic pause) or NEVER?!?" The tension and seriousness is palatable and suddenly I'm standing on that stage with the lights, cameras, and eyes all on me burning through my resolve to be anything close to rational. I laugh still my stomach hurts and exclaim, "Deal!!!"