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| Petra "Alien Boy" Dorn with monkey in Fairhaven, Wash. |
She assumed the persona of the lead character in the movie. Turns out not only is he male but alien and green. Didn't daunt the girl formerly known as Petra. For two months this summer, she was Lem. And despite questions and interrogations by parents, family and friends, she defended her identity and stayed in character like DeNiro.
"This alien boy Lem lives with Petra's mom," she'd say.
To the Paradise
To my question of what happened to Petra, she would respond, "Petra's gone to the Paradise." Never wavering.
Intense and I guess somewhat unsettling. But we went along with it. I let her mom do whatever she wanted when she was a kid. Mostly. But Petra's mom never became somebody else. My little sister did become a kitten for about a year when she was about the same age. Irritated my grandmother to no end. Julie wouldn't talk, just meow.
Petra/Lem is now another character. Looks the same. Cute as can be.
Kids adapt. Their interpretation of their surroundings is fluid. Anything is possible. In fact, they can accomplish just about anything they put their minds to. Adults have figured out how to operate within the confines of established rules. The parameters of our culture, codes and conditioning have been beaten into our heads.
We need innovation
Not that there's anything wrong with that. American individualism and the freedom to pursue dreams in the United States has driven many to break barriers and achieve success and scientific discovery.
But as a nation and a world, we need innovation. We're close to fouling our planet with climate changing carbon. This was OK for the start of the industrial revolution, but we have the potential to figure out a better method of extracting energy. Fuel prices spike repeatedly. The latest boost in vehicle fuel costs in California had to do with the early August 2012 fire at the Chevron refinery in the Bay Area.
