Overheard at... Target

"I'm telling you, Clones don't have the force. When you get a written letter from George Lucas that says Clones have the force, then I'll believe it."

This quote was particularly hilarious because it was the father telling his young son... and from the frustration in his tone it was clear this was not the first time he'd had to correct this terrible mistake.

I wrote it down at the time because, really, I thought there were so many different directions I could go with it.... pop culture, parent/child relationships, the toy isle at Target. Now, though, after watching twenty kids each have a different take on making a pasta skeleton during their HAlloween party, I am struck by how the quote might relate to imagination.

Albert Einstein amously said... "Imagination is more important than knowledge." I think this must be difficult for children to understand since often we live in a world that reward facts more than curiousity. My dughter struggles with this constantly. The desire to be correct frequently keeps her from experimenting with being wrong. And yet... she has one of the most amazing imaginations of any child her age I know. It is, in fact, her strongest asset.

What better day, though, than today to reflect on imagination. Halloween, as a holiday, is the one day a year where we encourage our children to push their imagination to the limits. For one day they do onot have to be 'real' or accept the visible/factual world around them. They can imagine witches flying on brooms over their head, or ghosts floating through the branches of a tree. They can become a princess, or a ninja, or a superhero....

Or.... on this one day at least... they can become a clone who indeed has the force; because on HAlloween, anything we imagine is possible.