“Mom can I get a hamster?” asked my eight year old son.
I didn’t answer.
“If I save my money I can get a cage” he continued
I ignored him.
If I get a boy and a girl, they can have babies and I can sell them.
I bit my tongue.
“Then I can make a lot of money”
I never discourage Oliver. His enthusiasm for all things come and go like a fall fashions.
He believes fully in what he is saying and there is no point in discouraging him because no sooner does he discover something interesting then he loses interest.
“Do you think Who wants to be a Millionaire will be on TV by the time I grow up? He asks in the car.
“Oh I’m sure” I say and go back to singing with the radio.
“I have been reading a lot lately and think I could get on the show if I can win the fastest finger.” He continues
“What’s the fastest finger?” I ask, somewhat intrigued.
He says something but I have already lost interest.
“Was Millionaire on when you were a kid?” he asks
“No, nothing was on when I was a kid” I say between beats of a song.
“Do you remember when the first Millionaire was on?”
“Yeah I remember, Regis saved the network.” I tell him frustrated that he is interrupting my favorite song.
“Did you know that Chimps have 93.5 percent of the same DNAS as humans?
My mind wanders to Planet of the Apes.
“When I was a kid, there was this movie…”
He interrupts. “Do people in Africa have clothes?”
“Of course.” I tell him and begin the discuss the geography of Africa but
no, he has no interest in what I am saying.
Did you know that 8% of all humans have a third nipple?
Did you say nipple? I ask but he is already on to another topic.
His interest in all things is transient. Thus when at 12 years old he announced that he was gay, I was not worried.
“What makes you think you are gay?” I ask
I just think I am. He says in earnest.
I think he must be teasing me and at any moment someone is going to pop out of the closet with a camera, Surprise!!!
But no, this is not a joke.
I am concerned. Not worried, not yet, just concerned.
Just because you don’t have a girl friend doesn’t mean you’re gay
“When I was your age,” I confide, “I thought I was straight. No one ever really knows.