It started out like any other night. Ben got an idea, and sat down with some paper, tape, scissors and stapler, and started creating. He does this all the time. What is funny to me is that sometimes the intricate things he tasks himself to build aren’t even very familiar things. Last week, he built a cash register out of cardboard, with a lever that kicked the drawer out. I do not think he’s ever even seen one of those, except on American Pickers.

This time, he was building something familiar, something that seems to be almost part of him. A motorcycle. He was smart about the sizing. He wanted to build something life-sized, so he chose to do a Pocket Bike (one of those little miniature things that looks like a small scale version of a regular motorcycle, but people ride them all hunched over with their knees up to their shoulders. I don’t understand the fad, but Ben knows that doing this size life-sized will make more sense when it’s made out of paper.).

He’s got the handlebars, the neck, and the front tire done. There is tape showing everywhere, and that is half the fun. He is slapping this thing together as quickly as his mind can come up with the next angle. Get this though, the front tire spins!

I love it. He’s still got food on his face from dinner. He is still totally eight-years old. He just thinks in design and build and is a total gearhead.

Before bed, he added the brake lever and throttle shifter. Now, to add dimension to the back of the bike.

Is it any wonder I stay up late sometimes thinking of things to show him, artists to introduce him to, inventors to explore? This boys mind is constantly going, and I just feel the need to feed it with good things, like language and literature, amazing math, music and art, tremendous science and architecture, the histories of the greats… and motorcycle madness!