Soapbox

Leonardo the Great

So I’ve got this kid…and recently she started playing with they older girls in the neighborhood, instead of the younger one who has been her best friend for quite some time. As expected, the type of games she’s playing has now changed, too.
    With her friend Brooke she  talks on the phone constantly and plays mom and babies. I had to dig her old baby doll (with the marks on her head where Katie colored on her when she was 2) out of the basement and round up all the clothes I made all those years ago. We put them in her old diaper bag and she carries the baby and the bag everywhere. She told me the other day that she and Brooke like to play Spice Girls in the hospital with new babies. Hummm.
     I remember me and Charlotte Agnone playing we were married to superheros and had babies. So I told her that if she was going to pretend to be a Spice Girl, maybe she could be Smarty Spice, who is a scientist, or Sensible Spice, who wears decent clothes. Kathleen laughed at this and said,
     "Oh Mom, I would NEVER wear one of those doesn’t-even-cover-your-bottom dresses like the real Spice Girls wear!"
    That’s my girl! You have to start on them when they’re young, but you can have an effect.

    With Ellen she puts on nail polish and talks about movie stars. This week I heard them in the living room making swooning noises and saying, "Oh, Leonardo…!"
    "Hey, you girls like Leonardo Da Vinci?" I said. "That’s great."
    "Oh Mom!" moaned Kate. "It’s Leonardo Di Caprio!"
    "No way!" said Ellen. "Leonardo Da Vinci is an old dude!"
    Old? Old things are good! I felt cut to the quick.
     "Kate, do you even know who Leonardo Di Caprio is?" I asked. No one in our family has seen  the movie Titanic, or even reads "People" magazine.
    "Sure I do. He’s the guy on the big poster in Ellen’s room."
Aha.
    "Yeah, my sister Anne sold it to me for a dollar, can you believe that?" Ellen asked.
    "Well, anyway, Leonardo Da Vinci isn’t really old, you know." I had to add.
    "Really? How old is he then?" Ellen sounded doubtful.
    "He’s the most incredible artist you’ve ever seen. Why, he has done paintings and sculptures that are amazing! That’s why he’s so famous. PLUS he knows about science, and math, and designs stuff; why he’s SO creative…"
    "How old is he?" Ellen persisted. I wasn’t done making my point, however.
    "A creative person is so cool to be around, you know? Wow; the stuff in his brain, and the beautiful creations of Da Vinci are SO much more interesting than just being in some movie. Creative, smart people are never boring."
    "And…?"
    "And..OK, so he died about 400 years ago. " Loud wails of protest from both girls at having been deceived. "But he’s not really old if he’s dead: am I right?"
    "Nice try" said Ellen wryly. "Leonardo Di Caprio’s cute!"
    I guess. If you like that sort.

     I remember when I was in about the 4th grade, and everyone was reading "Tiger Beat" and pretending they had famous boyfriends: David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman. My mom says she used to swoon over Vincent Price. It’s certainly nothing new.
     You can tell them til you’re blue in the face that its what’s on the inside that counts: a thousand times a week the world tells them the opposite. If you cut off the TV, they’ll just learn from their friends!
    At least she shows no interest in beauty pagents!