i can’t quite figure my niece out. at four years old, she’s pretty typical with her love of princesses and barbies. but she’s got this slight macabre bent that makes me think she might be a gothgirl waiting to happen.

since i watched “high fidelity” for the 382nd time today, i was thinking about top fives and movies and what not. also, since i didn’t get a chance to talk to many people whose age had reached the double digits, i asked jaycie what here top five favorite movies were and here’s the list:
cinderella
toy story 2
sleeping beauty
beauty and the beast
beetlejuice

yeah, one of these things is not like the other. one of these things just isn’t the same.

so, despite my best efforts to lure the kidlings into a rousing game of franklin memory (it’s sorta like simon, remember that game? the one where you had to touch the colored buttons in the order they lit up? well, it’s the same concept. the buttons just happen to be on franklin the turtle’s tummy), i got roped into watching the wizard of oz. it was on tnt tonight and jaycie saw the commercial.

she’s not afraid of anything. she loves that movie. as max and i cowered behind his wanket at the sight of the winged monkeys, jaycie laughed.

“they’re kinda scary,” she says. “but not really. they won’t hurt you. they’re just supposed to look scary.”

umm, i don’t care. really, the last thing i need is a peptalk from my four-year-old niece about the nonscariness of flying monkeys. max has got the right idea. he wasn’t too keen on singing munchkins either, the boy rules. but then max does have an odd thing for oompaloompas i can’t really explain.

after the wizard of ox ended and we had a big debate about bumping your head, the goonies came on. i loved this movie when i was a kid. LOVED IT. the movie opens with a white skull floating across a black background. jaycie takes one look at it and says, “oh, this is gonna be scary. let’s watch it!”

and she ate it up. the pirates, the candybar eating sloth, the mismatching chunk. she thought it was the best thing on earth. clearly she’s inherited the intelligence that can often be found in eldest daughters.