Will Alex Play Neil To My Scott Young?

On the weekend when we were up in Levack, Alexander and I were riding his bike down to the Levack Mini Mart. Okay, Alexander was riding his bike -- I was walking beside him. I did try to catch a ride by standing on the back of his tricycle, but I'm just too heavy.

Anyways, as we were walking past my buddy Pete Mihajic's house, we could hear that he was playing drums. He was playing along to the latest Rush album (Snakes & Arrows) -- and doing a damn fine job, I must say. (Anyone familiar with Neil Peart, the professor's drum style would know how difficult it is for any drummer to attempt to keep up with his eclectic drumming style)

In any case, Alexander was intrigued (banging and clashing is always interesting to a 3 year old), so we went inside and watched Pete play. My son was delighted to watch -- and then, even more delighted to pick up the soft sticks and start playing. He managed to try out most of the drums and symbols he could reach and delighted in the sounds each of them made. And he only fell off the stool once. (He has unfortunately inherited his mother's sense of balance along with father's joy of banging on things)


As I was watching the joy he took and the skill he displayed in playing the percussion (and also thinking about how he likes strumming my guitar or pressing the keys of his grandmother's piano), I wondered if he might be musically inclined. I started thinking about Scott Young and his son Neil. Scott was a beloved Canadian journalist/writer/storyteller whose son Neil Young became a well known musician.

I, of course, fantasized about becoming a writer of Scott Young's caliber and also wondered what might happen if Alexander pursued the musicians life. After writing an autobiography called A Writer's Life would I later write one called Alex and Me? I mean, after all, some of the best reader response to my blog posts over the past few years have been my tales of Alexander and the fun challenges of fatherhood. Maybe one day I could turn them into a book.

Who knows -- the fantasy was fun. And in the meantime, Alexander and I are just going to keep on rocking in the free world and see what comes of our pursuit of happiness.