One of the better, if mostly forgotten, Geico commercials featured "Lauren Wallace" as the cousin, twice removed, of NASCAR driver Mike Wallace. This Max Fischer-esque character may only be nine, but he's got his sights set on Mike Wallace, explaining that, though he'd go fishing with the man, any story with him and Mike end with "me putting him in the wall." This also includes those little remote control boats, in case you were wondering. Unlike the odd little Gecko or tired cavemen, we thought Lauren deserved more screen time. In fact, there was a debate online as to whether or not he was actually related to Wallace (we doubt it). But there's no do DNA test needed to link EvoCS to his son. Nor is there any doubt as to how he wants his kid to turn out.
My boy is 14 months old. We brought him home from the hospital in our Evo. He's "watched" countless F1, ALMS, and Indy car races, along with decent chunks of 2 Le Mans broadcasts. Soon I think I'll start strolling around car shows with him, like it was just a normal, everyday kind of thing. If he's anything like me, this won't matter one bit. My parents didn't do any of that stuff, and here I am, infected with car.
If he's not into it, I would be lying if I said it wouldn't kill me a little bit. But having said that, even though my folks weren't remotely close to the car geek I am today, they certainly didn't discourage my automotive fixation. So, if the boy is more of a sports fiend or is an artsy kid, fine. He's got all my support.
But, he will learn how to drive a manual transmission. That is law in our home.
Amen.