So I'm painting a wall in my basement today, and my second son, "McFly" who is 14, comes downstairs and asks if he can go hang out with his friend Daniel-son (spoken with an Oriental accent). I say, "Sure. Although, you can always help me paint." His response was classic teenalian, "I don't know how." I told him he would learn if he would help. Then in one of my best accents, sarcasm, I said, "But you'd probably just 'Tom Sawyer' it anyway.
His response: "Dad, if there were a Tom Sawyerland, I'd 'pown' it." (Teenalian cross of "pound" and "own" and pronounced poned as in loaned.) In other words, he would be the best at getting others to do things for him. He's right.
You see, my second son is a natural charismatic. (God help us it never goes to his head.) He can get anyone to do anything for him, and they will thank him for it no matter how miserable it might be. God has truly smiled lavishly on this one. One time one of his best friends (he travels in a herd, so you can never say "best" friend) was at the house. They wanted to go hang with another friend. I told him he had to clean the counter and sink in the bathroom first. In classic McFly fashion, he proceeded to clean the sink in the worst manner possible. His friend, "Touk" as I affectionately call him, saw what he was doing and was appalled.
He said, "You're doing it all wrong. Let me show you." I couldn't believe my eyes: Touk began cleaning the sink to a shine Aurora herself could not muster. (Later when revealing this story to Touk's mother, she was absolutely at a loss, for he had never cleaned so well at home.) McFly began to smile that s*#t-eating grin that makes him so irresistibly and classically McFly, and I could only grin and think, "How does he do that?"
What makes matter worse, not only does he know he's Tom Sawyer, everyone else does too..and they still don't mind being "powned" by Twain's fence painter! (Though his three brothers are much the wiser.)
So as for helping me paint the basement, McFly "powned" Tom Sawyerland...and I finished it myself.
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