Dinner with the Phantom

My wife and I dined with the Phantom of the Opera in a downtown art gallery last night and we’ll remember it forever. The occasion was a party to celebrate the 13th birthday of my oldest grandson. It was a masquerade ball and catered dinner with linen-covered tables adorned with silver candelabras, to which we had been summoned by engraved invitation. My grandson presided over the event as the Phantom. Several dozen masked people in evening dress, young and old, enjoyed every minute of it.

Anyone who doesn’t know my grandson might assume that this party was planned by his mother. Not so. The evening was planned by the Phantom, himself. My grandson is no ordinary 13-year old. He is an amazingly imaginative young man, who walks through life on his own path while the rest of us among his family and friends watch and enjoy.

The word most often applied to him is, unique. That’s a word that can be spoken with several intonations and can carry a number of meanings. But in this case it’s spoken with nothing by genuine admiration by everyone who uses it to describe this young man. The admirable form of uniqueness is hard to come by, and in teenagers it can sometimes seem to be a seriously endangered characteristic.

Many if not most teenagers desire the relative anonymity of sameness. They want to blend with the pack; they don’t want to stand out or be seen as “different”. There are exceptions, of course, and those exceptions lead to that array of intonations and meanings when they’re described as “unique”. So when we see uniqueness that is manifest as potential in a young man or young woman we sit up and take note. We have the feeling that we should pay attention because we might learn something from them. We might remember what it means to dream and to pursue those dreams with single-minded vigor.

My wish for my grandson is that he will stay the course and remain true to the calling that he hears. Right now, he wants to make movies, but not as an actor. He wants to direct them, something he’s been saying for several years. It’s not unusual for a young person to want to become a movie star. But not many 10-year old kids have a vision of becoming a movie director. Just the unique ones.

And the ones that do probably direct wonderful stage plays in various forms at various times in their young lives. Last night my grandson set a stage and directed a play with a cast of dozens. And a good time was had by all.

I’m grateful for the birthday gift that the rest of us received last night, from the Phantom of the Opera, no less.