Monster Time

Posted on April 4, 2011

I recently had a pleasure of being on Captain Coy Theobalt’s radio show, Man Alive! (http://www.castlerockradio.com).  His guest for the day was the Grateful Dad, Doug Gertner.  That day’s program was on creating adventures with your kids and I got to speak about the roots and programming of AdventureDad.org.  Unfortunately, the sound didn’t transfer well, but I’ve attached a brief clip of the program 1Man_Alive_2_28_11.

One of my favorite parts of the show was when Capt. Coy was talking about the monster game he played with his kids every day when coming home from work.  Upon entering, he would flop down on the hall floor and pretend to be asleep.  The kids would run into the kitchen to get some of the monsters special wake up pills (M & M’s) and feed them to the monster.  Upon waking, the monster would then spend the next ten minutes wrestling the kids in a big pile on the floor.

As he talked, I quickly recalled the many joyful experiences I have had with Alex and his friends, as well as, the countless numbers of group kids I’ve taken swimming as part of my work.  At the lake, the monster lives in the water waiting to challenge the children.  He starts out strong, but quickly tires with the hoard of kids on top of him.  All clutching his arm to prevent what is going to happen next, the monster fights to bring his hand to his mouth and take the magic power pill he needs.  The ensuing mayhem is one giant laugh and soaking as children fly through the air and struggle back for control.  The best part for the monster, is knowing the physics of water and how much easier it is to wrestle those buoyant kids.  My hat is off to you Captain Coy for doing it on dry land!

Posted in Reflections

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