So Herbie attends Wizard Con Saturday with his kids and I volunteer to show him around.
For the proud few who've listened to the pod cast you know Herbie is not regular convention goer. I usually can get him to stay for about an hour then he gets bored and is ready t leave especially if he has his boys.
The differences between us can be quite striking at times. I enjoy browsing vendor and artist tables feeling out those people who are the most interesting. I can also spend hours just browsing dealers without feeling the pressure to buy but knowing when to snatch something up because it could be my only opportunity. I've tried to impart these skills to my son 'J' a hardened veteran of conventions having attended Comic Con in San Diego 12 times in his eleven years. Each year my wife and I gauge his progress and afford him a degree of freedom accordingly.
Herbie and his sons have few if any convention skills which I blame LEX for. Oh yeah LEX! Haven't mentioned her before. It stands for L (el) X as in ex-wife. LEX is a mundane. She aspires to be middle class and socially acceptable; needless to say we never got along. She couldn't understand fandom in any form as it was not career advancing and was therefore a waste of time.
I often found myself, extra badges in hand, waiting in vain for Herbie to arrive during the LEX years. This was also true for gallery openings, movie premiers, parties and what have you. The worst part of it all is that LEX is reaching beyond the divorce papers to keep him in check.
I wanted Herbie to meet with the people I lined up interviews with. I can say for a fact that adults talking about talking is not a young child's idea of fun. My son per our set rules requested to go play with his purchases for that day and invited Herbie's sons to join in. Herbie had to nix the plan because LEX would give him nothing but grief if anything were to happen. I didn't try to assure him nothing would happen because I can't make that claim. I've just had more time to train my son to were I have a level of confidence he'll do the right thing. Do I worry about 'J', all the time! There just comes a point where you have to let them explore on their own.
Just over an hour after arriving Herbie had to call it quits. His youngest was tired from walking the floor and bored; his oldest was too to a lesser degree. After saying good-byes and taking request to look for missed titles I decided to spend the day searching for books I wanted since the panels I wanted to see were not child friendly and over by then. 'J' and I went our separate ways, he to play with his toys and I to search. A half hour later feeling bored and a little lonely 'J' sought me out and stayed with me as I searched dozens of long boxes. He kept himself entertained by pulling books from the boxes to read. I felt very happy and content that 'J' could patiently wait for me as I flipped though thousands of randomly ordered books.
I don't know if Herbie will ever be a regular con goer. Many's the time he has kicked himself upon hearin what he missed, but nothing has ever really motivated him to put in the time and effort needed. Herbie is making plans for San Diego this year. I guess we'll know how things worked out by July 28. That's the day after for those keeping track.
-CJ
For the proud few who've listened to the pod cast you know Herbie is not regular convention goer. I usually can get him to stay for about an hour then he gets bored and is ready t leave especially if he has his boys.
The differences between us can be quite striking at times. I enjoy browsing vendor and artist tables feeling out those people who are the most interesting. I can also spend hours just browsing dealers without feeling the pressure to buy but knowing when to snatch something up because it could be my only opportunity. I've tried to impart these skills to my son 'J' a hardened veteran of conventions having attended Comic Con in San Diego 12 times in his eleven years. Each year my wife and I gauge his progress and afford him a degree of freedom accordingly.Herbie and his sons have few if any convention skills which I blame LEX for. Oh yeah LEX! Haven't mentioned her before. It stands for L (el) X as in ex-wife. LEX is a mundane. She aspires to be middle class and socially acceptable; needless to say we never got along. She couldn't understand fandom in any form as it was not career advancing and was therefore a waste of time.
I often found myself, extra badges in hand, waiting in vain for Herbie to arrive during the LEX years. This was also true for gallery openings, movie premiers, parties and what have you. The worst part of it all is that LEX is reaching beyond the divorce papers to keep him in check.
I wanted Herbie to meet with the people I lined up interviews with. I can say for a fact that adults talking about talking is not a young child's idea of fun. My son per our set rules requested to go play with his purchases for that day and invited Herbie's sons to join in. Herbie had to nix the plan because LEX would give him nothing but grief if anything were to happen. I didn't try to assure him nothing would happen because I can't make that claim. I've just had more time to train my son to were I have a level of confidence he'll do the right thing. Do I worry about 'J', all the time! There just comes a point where you have to let them explore on their own.
I don't know if Herbie will ever be a regular con goer. Many's the time he has kicked himself upon hearin what he missed, but nothing has ever really motivated him to put in the time and effort needed. Herbie is making plans for San Diego this year. I guess we'll know how things worked out by July 28. That's the day after for those keeping track.
-CJ
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