Back when Bella was a littler girl, I began reading "The Giving Tree" to her. I personally was unfamiliar with the book, which apparently was a favorite of Mary as a little girl. At first I did not know what to make of the message of the book, if anything. But one thing I did notice early on was that Bella would jump in fear when I closed the book, which had a particularly scary picture of Shel Silverstein on the back cover.
Thus began the legend of "The Man," which I use to this day with comedic effect to scare both kids after reading the book. I'll finish the story and quickly flip to the back cover and announce "It's the Man" which causes both kids to squeal in a semi-fearful and semi-joking way.
To the point, tonight after a long and fruitful Christmas Day, with both kids in their long PJs getting ready for bed, I find Bella's chasing Zack between the bedrooms, with her copy of "The Giving Tree" shouting "It's the Man, it's the Man", knowing that my work is done in this regard.
