Harry Potter... 24/7

Well, it's official.

NJ has discovered Harry Potter.

As is my habit, I regularly skim the aisles of the local bookstore for new titles that NJ might enjoy. My wife does the same. And together we've provided him with some pretty solid material through the years.

Mom, I must say, introduced him to his first opus - Jamberry. The two of them literally wore that book out. The covers fell off. We had to buy a new one.

Then it was onto Archie comics. That was my doing. Most recently we also introduced him to the world of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He knew Roderick's rules long before they reached the silver screen.

And now, it's Harry Potter.

Not long ago, we rented the first HP movie and watched it with the boy. He fell in love. His passion for detailed systems... for ordered social settings... for magic... for the ongoing struggle between villains and heroes... it all made him prone to Harry Potteritis.

He has come down with a chronic case, I assure you.

Suddenly, I am conversant in that crazy lingua potter, and find myself in 20-minute conversations with NJ regarding Dumbledore's new spells... the "Balsisk"... Herme-OH-nee, as he calls her... etc.

Watching him enter this new world makes me wonder at how magical his little mind really is. He can just flick a switch and "get" a whole mini cosmos in about 15 seconds. He can ascertain the rules, the dynamics, the whole thing more quickly than I figured out what a muggle was.

We're just getting started on this journey. But it all makes me wonder...

Harry Potter is somewhat misunderstood in the world of the muggles. Others don't get him.

His own uncle - the big jerk - even calls him a freak!

Harry, however, is much smarter and more gifted than all of them combined. He harbors a great destiny within him. It's just that he needs someone to help him unleash that magic, so that he can use it to help save the world.

That someone eventually arrives in the form of Hagrid, a large, hairy man with good intentions... but bad personal hygiene.

Hagrid shows Harry the world of Hogwarts. He steers him around the halls of the school for wizards, and helps him avoid disaster, although Harry must experience headwinds and overcome challenges all on his own.

I'm sure NJ can relate to Harry on more levels than one. And... please feel free to call me Hagrid.

Peace,

Jay