Attack of the Crab Monsters!

We like classic horror movies in my family, and while the following story isn't about this particular gem, the movie did come to mind as I sat down to write this post.  See, from a very young age, my kids have been fascinated with stories like Attack of the Crab Monsters, or the Creature From the Black Lagoon.  I think this is partly because I like these stories, and much to my wife's chagrin, my kids have grown to like them as well.

But their love of the fantastical doesn't stop with classic movie monsters--their imaginations are pretty impressive. They come up with all sorts of stories and imaginary scenarios.  From intergalactic unicorns to goblin fairies.  It's really fun, watching them play and and create art from their imaginations.

Just this last week, my son wrote a book for which he is now seeking publication:

This morning, my oldest daughter gave me some character sketches this morning for a story that she wants to write:

And while my youngest daughter's ambitions are not quite as evolved as those of her older siblings, she can tell a story that packs a wallop.  In fact, her entire reality seems to blend with the imaginary world around her.  (The unicorn in the backyard is really there, and her name is Charlie--which is short for Charlotte.  Charlie keeps away the evil Toad Monster that lurks under the bushes.)  My wife and I have gotten so used to her stories about imaginary creatures and events, that it sometimes becomes difficult for us to realize when she is actually telling the truth.

For instance, when our oldest daughter began school, she and her classmates took care of a hermit crab as a class pet. Our youngest daughter was so enamored with the hermit crab, that she would often talk about the crab that she would have as a class pet when she was in preschool.

Well, she started school this last week, and has been telling us about their class pet, which happened to be a hermit crab named Herman.  We smiled and nodded, thinking that this was just another one of her reality-bending stories.  We even had a sit down conversation with her about telling the truth.  She insisted that Herman was real (as real as Charlie).

My wife accompanied her to school yesterday and found that her class does indeed take care of a hermit crab named Herman.  We were surprised, and a little sad that we hadn't taken her more seriously.  But even then, I guess it's possible that the crab was actually just a projection of her imagination.

Hence the crab monsters.  And we have come full circle...

On another note, Chapter Seven of Monarch is now up on over at the Campfire.  Read on and enjoy!

Popcorn and Velociraptors

You know exactly what I'm talking about.  The smell of popcorn, Coke, and Twizzlers.  The hushed murmurs and nervous chuckles.  The lights go down and the previews begin.  That's a magical moment right there.

More than twenty years ago, I stood in a line that wrapped all the way around the block of that theater (pictured above), and waited for what was to become one of my most cherished childhood memories.  Jurassic Park.  A blockbuster in the truest sense of the word.

I had the vague notion that the movie was about dinosaurs.  I didn't know much more, except that at some point, a goat would meet a bloody and untimely demise.  I knew the movie might be scary, but I was ready for it.

Boy, were my nerves in for a treat.  I was about nine years old at the time, and I don't think anything in my life prior to that date could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

I remember there was a girl sitting next to me in the packed auditorium.  I didn't know the girl and she didn't know me, but we held each other and screamed in terror all the same.

That night was pure bliss.  A benchmark by which I would forever measure experiences at the movie theater.

I wrote about this experience here, but I'm writing about it again today because I was able to relive that experience with my own kids this last weekend.  We sat there together in the packed auditorium, watching the rampaging dinosaurs with awe and wonder.  We laughed at the jokes, screamed during the scary parts, and enjoyed the magic of it all.

And that is exactly why Jurassic World shattered the box office this last weekend.  It took me (and countless others) back to the Summer of 1993, and made us feel like kids again.

So here's to memories.  Here's to nostalgia.  Here's to popcorn and velociraptors.