phoenix

i've never been to phoenix. i'm pretty sure chris hasn't either. we have no family who lives in phoenix. and yet, the first thing i hear every day when i wake up is the phoenix weather forecast, delivered by my four-year old.

as i've posted before, liam and chris enjoy breakfast together every weekday morning while susanna and i catch a bit more sleep. they chat and eat, and while chris peruses the rest of the newspaper, liam studies the national weather map on the back page of the metro section. as soon as chris departs for work, liam bounds up the stairs at a volume only a young boy can create, plowing through my bedroom door with an excited, "mommy! mommy!" after i sit up and give him a kiss, he follows up with, "guess what the high is today in phoenix?!" i always throw out some random number, like, oh, 42. and he'll laugh and say, "no! today in phoenix it is going to be 98 degrees!" and then, just like that, his work is done, and he scampers off to his room to get dressed. it's been like this every single day for the past few months. i really have no idea why he's chosen phoenix. his uncle is in st. louis, his aunt is in california -- both places that are easily found on the weather map. but phoenix, for whatever reason, is the current shining star.

two fridays ago, however, i had a feeling the morning routine might take a detour. i heard the same herd of elephants him clomping up the steps, and i smiled, anticipating a different entrance. "mommy! mommy!" he yelled. and then -- no mention of weather whatsoever. instead, he said breathlessly, "i'm in the paper, mommy! look! it's a picture of ME!"

and sure enough, clutched in his proud outstretched fist was page 2B, and on it was his photograph, printed in black and white, for all the world to see. there was no story or column to accompany the picture; just a caption identifying him and what he was doing. (see the picture below.) a few days a week, the news & observer will fill extra space with a cute picture of children or pets or artwork or, really, whatever they receive from readers that they deem interesting. i had taken a few shots of liam blowing bubbles in the front yard one day the previous week, and on a whim, e-mailed one to the section editor. he kindly replied that he would indeed be using it that friday.

so there you have it -- liam's first brush with celebrity. but why stop here? i'm thinking we need to go national. global, even! so my next step is to contact other major newspapers and see if they'll run it too. maybe i'll start with phoenix.