2002-03-29 � Flights of Fancy

This evening Tommy and I went to see Panic Room. It was one of those date movies I mentioned in my last post. It was delicious, Panic Room was. There was a breathtaking shot toward the begining that introduced us to the villains.

It started on the third floor, backing out of Jodi's room as she slept then floated through the banister and down the stairwell to focus in on the window where the villains were spotted trying to break in. Without cutting away it floated through the house, passing through furniture, walls, floors and the like as the burglars moved around the outside looking for the easiest way in. It was aided considerably by computers, of course, but it was still stunning and you should all watch for it.

When we left the theater we shared a pizza and deconstructed the movie a bit. The idea of having a panic room in my house has never really occured to me. Tom believed this is because I am not safety concious. This isn't the case at all, I just believe in being heavily insured. Let the bad guys take what ever they want, co-operate fully, and live to buy new stuff on a State Farm claim. I frankly can't imagine owning any thing so valuable I'd need to protect it like that, and if I did, I know how to rent a safety deposit box at my local federally insured bank.

Tom, however sees things differently. "I want a panic room in our house."

I tried to swallow my morsel without choking. "You want a what?"

"A panic room of our very own!"

"Why?"

"Because it would be cool!"

"We really don't need a panic room. They make for good movies, though."

Tom looked a bit incredulous. "For protection. We gotta have one to be safe."

"Stop. I'm starting to think you're serious."

"I am serious! I want a panic room."

I blinked a little and tried to keep my jaw from going all slack. I figured the easiest way would be to extricate myself would be to subtly change the subject. "My ex always wanted to build a house with secret passages."

"OOOOOOH! I want those too!" Tom bounced a bit in his chair, his eyes alight, imagination full throtle.

"Oh, come on. A panic room and secret passages? We'll never find that on the market."

"We'll have to build." I think he was a little disappointed I didn't seize on this idea. "Don't look at me that way," he said. I think I was giving him this face.

"It'll be worth it," he continued. "For our protection."

"Dude, how are secret passages going to protect us."

"There used to be this show about a little black boy who had white parents. He had secret passaged behind the clock and stuff."

"Are you talking about Webster?" I asked.

"Yeah! Webster. When the robbers came in, he hid in the secret passages and he was safe! That's just what we need."

"Yeah, sweetie. Just what we need." I signaled the waiter for the bill.

Tommy continued. "OOOOOOH! Do you know what else we need?"

"An aviary and a helipad?"

"Now, Brian," Tom scolded. "Be serious for just a second. Can you do that? Can you be serious for just one second?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I said. "I'll try to be serious. What else do we need?"

"We need a war room!"

"A what?"

"A war room! And it will be protected by lasers that are keyed to automatically take out intruders. It will be an impenetrable fortress in the center of the house!" Tom's enthusiasm had him out of his seat and pacing slightly beside the table.

"A fortress with armed laser guns in the center of our house."

"Yeah! Just picture it! Can you picture it? Brian, are you picturing it, 'cause it doesn't look like you're getting the vision. If you try you'll get the vision and you'll be picturing it."

I sighed a little and put on my jacket. "Yeah, sweetie. It's coming in loud and clear."

Somedays I'm reminded why I love him.

Posted at 9:28 p.m.

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