What He Said

When my daughter was a little, she could memorize the songs and lines from her favorites videos and music tapes. Her collection was of Sesame Street, Toddler Songs, Raffi, Disney Cartoons and a few Warner cartoons that my dad liked.

People WC (with children) know that toddlers have a favorite video or CD that has to be played continually until they know every word and every note. It is their job then to drill it into their parents' heads. Parents will then hear the entire video or music not only in their sleep but very often during waking hours. It's called SCVMT which stands for Small Child Video or Music Torture.

Another peculiarity of SCVMT is that the child may begin to quote such videos and music in conversation. My daughter once hopped in the front seat of my mother's car and when my sister placed her in the back in her toddler seat she exclaimed "I won't stand for this!" and pounded her fist on the head rest much like the prince's father in Disney's Cinderella.

My daughter is now 22 years old with very good taste in music. Why? Because of MMVPB--Mom Music/Video Payback. Besides that,I was brought up to be an avid reader and raised her to enjoy the world of books, too.

My husband will read Scripture and a few news articles. He can watch TV for several hours straight.To my amazement, he can watch some of his favorite shows and movies over and over. Let me add another "over" because the condition is just that severe. He has another syndrome similar to one mentioned above called HMMTLS or Husband Memorizes Movie/Television Lines Syndrome. It's torturous effect is often much worse than SCVMT.

When we were married two and a half years ago he panicked when he discovered he was moving into a house that had basic satellite programming without any of the movie channels.He quickly had me add his name to the account so that he could pay for all of the premium programming. Now when we cannot find how an emptied water bottle returned to the frig I hear the opening monologue for Law and Order I know where it originated. When I'm off to work on a cool day and need head covering I may hear him say to me, "That's some bad hat, Harry."

If M.A.S.H. the movie is on for the umpteenth time, I can hear the entire screenplay coming from his lips along with the movie. I hear "Hustle and Flow" and all it's rap lyrics.

My husband knows almost everything Denzel Washington ever uttered on screen. The one I like best is a line I'm inclined to use as well and that is from "Inside Man" when someone is stating the obvious: "Thank you, bank robber. I'm learning so much today."

I've discovered he's not the only one with this condition as he will sometimes be on the phone with a friend and they will have an entire conversation in movie lines.

"We all go a little mad sometimes." (Anthony Perkins as NORMAN BATES in Psycho)