This is Ryan, maybe age 3?
When Ryan was little, he was obssessed with grilled cheese sandwiches (actually, not much has changed!). Only he heard the word "grilled" as "girl'd" meaning it was girly or belonged to a girl. So he refused to say it. Instead, he'd order a "boy'd" cheese sandwich, which would make everyone giggle (especially waitresses).
He also has another Family Favorite story about his obssession with The Hulk (even then he was a comic nerd!). He'd run around, doing this gorilla-ish pose with his arms bowed in (like this) and would flex and declare "I DA HULK" to everyone. They loved it, of course. Who wouldn't?
So after his long running fixation with The Hulk, grandma and grandpa (or Happy and Papa, in the local parlance) took him to the mall where The Hulk was making a surprise appearance. They didn't tell him why they were going and in his young little peabrain, he was mixed with dread of shopping (what boy isn't?) and hope that he might get a toy. Instead, they turn down an aisle and Papa asks "who's that over there?" and Ryan spies The Hulk, lumbering at the end of the aisle with his green skin glowing and his purple pants clinging on for dear life... and melts. He says that he can remember it well. He wasn't afraid or nervous, he was just overwhelmed with oh my god The Hulk is right there... shopping at this mall and his brain short circuited and his knees went week.
Eventually, he pulled himself together and got to meet The Hulk - live and in person! - and has been a bit of a Hulk freak ever since.*
Flash forward to Christmas 2009, when Kate made him one of the most touching personal gifts ever.
He's actually saving it to wear to a convention with purple pants. Where he hopes to get a wrist-shattering high five from Lou Ferrigno (again).
*Modern day: he's got a Hulk spin-off comic that is "Skaar: Son of Hulk" which, to me, looks so stupid that I can't get past the title. We regularly say "Skaaaaaar!" in a half-pirate, half-Hulk voice that is equally stupid but turns out to be the perfect thing to say when the room is quiet.
2 comments:
Ha ha! I'm so glad Ryan likes the shirt. I feel bad that when I bought it, I didn't notice it was "Middle America" large and not "Los Angeles Large". I should make him another or hem it or force him to eat more burgers or something.
That's so sweet. :) I think it's funny how Max took to the Hulk too. :) I used to be be so terrified of the live action t.v. show when I was little.
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