The MP3 Player

My son asked for an MP3 player for his 13th birthday. At first I resisted. I believe that music is a gift to be shared with everyone around us, not to be kept to ourselves. Besides, as a concerned parent, I want to know exactly what my kid is listening to.

But then I realized it could be a way to feed his blossoming musical skills. Maybe we could give him some piano concertos to listen to, some classics to stimulate his music mind.

So the birthday came. Overjoyed by his new MP3 player, my son immediately loaded it up with Weird Al songs. So much for my piano concerto idea. At least my son would be happy with his music while I wouldn't have to listen to Weird Al for hours on end.

Or so I thought.

My son sings along with his MP3 player.

As we drove home from Los Angeles yesterday my son treated us to hours of "The Rye or the Kaiser," "The Spiderman," and "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota." I thought it was charming. I don't want to explain to him that the idea of an MP3 player is so you can listen to music without bothering the people around you.

After all, I want to know what he's listening to!