twosmallmonsters

Here's the thing I love about Ben: His brain works completely unlike mine. This can also sometimes be the source of problems but I will neglect to talk about those here and today. My favorite recent image of him occurred when I was waiting for him to return home from work last fall. I arrived at his house early and was sitting on his porch steps enjoying one of the last beautiful days before leaves dropped when I heard him approach on his 1970-something teal motorcycle he bought last summer. Perhaps it was the funkiness of the vintage motor cycle, the rusty orange backpack he was wearing, the flattering jeans strapped around the bike, or just the whole package of a cute boy on a motorbike. Any or all of those reasons was the cause of the image to stick and if I think of it now I remember: tonight I am calling a cute boy.

I don't think in mechanical terms. I don't think in mathematical terms either. I cannot remember a string of numbers two seconds after a phone number has been recited to me. But then there is Ben, restoring his motorcycle with small, unidentifiable (in my opinion) pieces of metal from Pep Boys. The engine cuts out twenty miles from home and this is no sweat- he can fix it! The bike could use a new paint job- why not do it himself? Candace and I created a song Ben's ability to pop the hood and tinker. We think in annoying musicals, however, and Ben does not. So spring is here now and you can find Ben in:
1. Alleys perfecting the bottle rocket. I am told this involves ear protection, jump suits, and eye protection. Inspired by Myth Busters, he is measuring just how much pressure it takes for one to explode and shatter the bottle.
2. Chris's driveway restoring his beautiful motorcycle inside and out.
3. Constructing furniture to set his home built and home wired speakers, electric guitar, and amplifiers on

Again, to reiterate, one of the things I love about Ben is how his mind is so unlike mine. I aspire to learn too how to tinker with purpose and knowledge in the hopes that perhaps we can one day buy a super old truck (pre sixties) and restore, repaint in a two-tone (dark brown and cream), and build a vegetable oil engine to place under the hood. I like to dream that one day part of my brain will think like Ben.