Monday, March 07, 2005

El Chupacabra

Eli 3.7 has learned a new word.

"Chupacabra."

I've always said that if there's one word you want your boy to learn, it's the word that refers to the mythic, terrifying beast whose name in Spanish literally means "goat sucker."

I blame Scooby-Doo.

No, I really blame Scooby-Doo, because that's where Eli heard the word.

"Daddy, is the chupercabla scary?"

"Not really, little man."

"But it looks scary."

"I know, but it isn't real."

"The chupercabla isn't real?"

"No."

"You mean like Tiger Woods?"

"Dude, Tiger Woods is real."

"TIGER WOODS is REAL?"

"Just as real as we are."

Eli 3.7 slaps his forehead. "I can't BELIEVE."

"Listen, little man, any time you see something on Scooby-Doo that seems scary, it's not real."

"It's not?"

"No. There's always a zombie or a witch or a monster--"

"Or a chupercabla."

"Right. Or a chupacabra. Only it's really somebody in a costume who's just pretending to be a monster, and they're trying to scare people away from land that they want to buy to build a theme park. So there's nothing to be afraid of, because in the end they take the costume off the bad guy and he says 'I would have gotten away with it, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids. ' "

Eli 3.7 laughs. "Meddling kids. That's silly."

The sound of words can make Eli laugh, even if he doesn't know what they mean. Just hearing the name "Vijay Singh" while we're watching golf can make him fall off the couch laughing--he thinks that's the funniest name in the world.

He's obviously never heard of Seymour Butz, I.P. Freely, or Ollie Tabooger. Among others.

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