Tardis Boy

A couple years back at a very small festival in Phoenix, I met a really cool kid. He asked for a tardis on his face... and at that time,  I didn't know exactly a tardis was, I just knew it was some Doctor Who thing. Luckily, there was a picture of one on the back of his dad's truck. So I grabbed the appropriate paint and brushes, he and I walked over to the truck, and I (poorly) duplicated the tardis on the boy's face.
Now, they say kids are forgiving... and I know I didn't make a good tardis... but the kid played it cool. He looked at it, let me know it was ok, that it wasn't too bad. He was so encouraging! I, of course, was slightly embarassed and felt bad that I couldn't give him the awesome tardis he was expecting. That day I made a promise to myself that I would learn more about Doctor Who and the tardis, in case I ever saw him again.

Fast forward a year or so, my own son has become pretty much obsessed with Doctor Who, and the word Tardis has become a household term around here, along with bowties, fezzes, weeping angels and wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. In fact, we have plans to build a tardis schoolbus shelter for my son for the winter. Yup, he's really into it. He doesn't let me paint him, so I haven't practiced a tardis, but at least I know what one is, what it's for, and what it looks like.

This last weekend, I was painting at a company picnic in Baldwinsville... not really near Phoenix at all. I didn't recognize the kid right away, but I recognized his dad. It only took me a couple seconds to figure out that the child in front of me, asking for dog face painting, was in fact, Tardis Boy from Phoenix. I was so excited! I told him I had learned about Doctor Who, and I knew about the tardis, and weeping angels, and all the Doctor Who-ey goodness. He abandoned the dog idea, and asked for a weeping angel on one cheek and a tardis on the other. Now, mind you, I haven't painted these things before, but I was determined to make it happen for my little friend. So I tried my level best. I thought it looked... okay. DEFINITELY better than the first one I did for him... but I wasn't totally satisfied. He liked it... but I didn't get the "wow" factor. I didn't mind as long as he was happy. He gave me two hugs and his dad sent me a pic!

So to my buddy the tardis boy.... thanks for being so cool. You made my day. I promise I will totally nail next time I see you. Third time is a charm, right? To tardis mom and dad... thanks for instilling so much awesome into your kids. They are all amazingly sweet, smart, cute, and really really cool!