Calle Ocho Dance Party

Did I mention Julian likes Calle Ocho? And I mean, A LOT. He got so mad in the car this morning because I was letting Steve Miller croon about that big ol' jet airliner that he started to scream at the top of his lungs:

"I want CALLE OCHO!!!"

So if you haven't been keeping up with the Top 40 stuff (I hardly do), then I'll remind you of the song that is Calle Ocho's big hit right now. There are basically three lyrics:

I know ya want me.
Ya know I want ya.
Uno Dos Tres Cuatro!

Ring a bell? At least the guy can count.

If the song comes on while we're in the car, Julian goes ballistic. His head flies side to side while he 'dances', his little body retained only by the 5-point-harness on his Britax carseat. If it weren't for that, he'd have his head out the top of the sunroof. Remember Tom Hanks' Manhattan limo ride in the movie "Big"? Like that.

Poor Steve is just keepin' on: Don't carry me too far away, oh oh oh.

"I want CALLE OCHO!"

I try to explain to Julian that I don't control what they play on the radio. Normally, if this Calle Ocho worship got bad enough, I might be tempted to buy the CD and play it for him, but Ian put a quarter into the felt-lined CD intake slot about 3 years ago and no CD has been played in our car since. There's even a Johnny Cash stuck in the 6-disc changer. I miss him.

My husband and I argue periodically about whether or not it was a dime (his recollection) or a quarter (mine), but like most things related to home/car upkeep, we haven't done anything about fixing the radio or settling who's right. (I'm not too anxious about it. I know it's me.) We're hoping maybe we could even sell the car without the buyer noticing. I mean, think about it. Did you check the CD player the last time you were shopping for a car? (OK, no, we would never do that. I promise.)

I flip around to other stations. No Calle Ocho. Sorry, Julian, I say. He's not appeased. I try to concentrate on Steve and do that thing where I zone out and watch the stoplight until the red, green and yellow merge into a color that kind of looks like okra. I'm considering the earplug solution, but Steve's serenade is too good.

Ridin' high I got tears in my eyes
You know you got to go through hell
Before you get to heaven...

Ain't that the truth, Steve.