About a year or so ago, my son Blaze (who is now almost 12) started really getting into writing Batman stories. Needless to say I was pretty happy about this; Having your son doing the same things you were doing at that age is cool enough, but having him excited about writing was like icing on the cake. I really wanted to encourage that creative streak in him, so I decided it would be neat to get him a special pen of some sort that he could use just for his Batman stories. I remembered that the old Warner Brothers Studio Store had a really neat Batman statue and pen set that they were selling way back when... So with a little searching, I picked one of these up and presented it to him-
(Pic courtesy of eBay)
He absolutely loved it... The pen was used for many a story, and after it eventually gave up all its ink the statue still served as an inspiration to keep writing.
Sadly, as things have way of doing in an adolescent boys' room, the statue took a tumble last week. Though he kept it in a safe place at all times, accidents happen... and the statue didn't survive the fall. We gathered up all the pieces we could find and I explained that the statue didn't look like it could be repaired. He was pretty upset by it. I explained later that night that it wasn't irreplaceable, and we could get him another sometime... but his reply clued me in as to why he was taking it so hard- "But that one wouldn't be mine".
I thought back to when I was about 7 years old. I had a plush toy of Gizmo from the Gremlins films that I would take with me EVERYWHERE. It was tattered and beaten, and the squeak noise that used to emanate from his belly had long gone silent... but I didn't care. He was my best friend. My Mom did everything she could to keep him from looking like a prop from the Mad Max films... but eventually she decided to replace him with a new model. Presented with this shiny new Gizmo though, I just replied- "But that one isn't mine".
I knew exactly what Blaze felt. This wasn't just something I could replace... it was an ideal, not an object. So I gathered up the pieces, glued together what I could and sculpted in the rest. I knew it would require a new paintjob too... and since Blaze is a huge '89 Batman fan just like his Dad, I took the opportunity to spruce it up a little. :)
So once again, Batman rests on Blaze's desk... Inspiring stories of last-minute rescues and dastardly villains. Except now he is doing it with much more style....
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