The Iron Giant

My latest addiction is Netflix, and I thank Roku for enabling the addiction. OK, wait a minute. I have two young boys. Finding time to sit and blog without interruption can prove challenging, at times. However, blogging while the boys are home and actively running around can also prove to be entertaining and inspirational. As I type, the boys are watching Iron Giant, hence the title of this post. In addition, their friend from next door is visiting and watching the movie, too. My boys have seen the Iron Giant several times, and my oldest is having a hard time sitting still and watching the movie, quietly. [Note: Do not go to movies with my oldest, if you are a person who enjoys watching movies without an ever-flowing commentary taking place next to you.] Suddenly, I hear my oldest say to his friend, “Hey, do you want to see my sock drawer?” Wait. What? OK. I don’t care who you are – that is funny right there.

So, as I was saying before becoming distracted by an apparent exciting sock drawer, I am in love with Roku. Moreover, I am in love with Netflix and the ability to watch several movies instantly. We do not subscribe to cable TV at our house. We actually have an antenna on our roof, and we are able to watch television for free! True, the channels are limited, but the time we spend in front of the television is limited, too. Compared to the average household, we watch very little television. Get this – we only have one TV in the house, too. Are we crazy or what?! (Keep in mind, though, at least one of us in this house has a very cool sock drawer, so we are hip.)

Wednesday nights are special nights in our house. On Wednesday nights, we all rearrange our sock drawer. I’m kidding. And, I will stop with the sock drawer jokes. My husband is part of a men’s group at church, and the men get together on Wednesday nights. Because my husband is not home for supper on Wednesday nights, the boys and I have deemed Wednesday nights ‘Sandwich and a Movie Night’. The three of us look forward to Wednesday nights and plopping ourselves in the living room to eat pb&j sandwiches and watch a movie. I enjoy looking for new movies to share with the boys. Thanks to Netflix, the selection of movies is greater than our current DVD/VHS collection. And, through Netflix, we found The Iron Giant.

Prior to the giant made of metal, the boys requested the lovable computer/trash compactor over and over again. However, Wall-E has taken a back seat to The Iron Giant. Yes, you will still hear the boys and I quote the movie Wall-E with our ‘ta da’, ‘mo’ and  ‘eeve-ah’;  but, Wall-E is now in hibernate mode, as we watch and quote The Iron Giant with a growing frequency: “What you have IN YOUR MOUTH – IS ART!”; “You know, Blah, blah, blah?”; “Roooock. Treeee.”; etc. Based on the fact that our neighbor is completely focused on the movie now, I am guessing we may have hooked another new fan of the movie. Have you seen The Iron Giant? Go ahead. Watch it. I am confident you’ll like it. And, I’ll be sure to keep my oldest at home, so he doesn’t distract you with tales of his sock drawer.

Thank you Netflix and Roku, for opening a world of streaming movies and music to me and my family. When the boys aren’t watching The Iron Giant, we are more than likely listening to our classical music channel via Pandora, with our Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel and Genesis channels also receiving frequent airplay. In fact, the boys have finished their movie and have gone outside to play, giving me the freedom to turn on our  Simon & Garfunkel channel. Spending a Saturday morning listening to Peter, Paul & Mary’s ‘Wedding Song’, Harry Chapin’s ‘Cat’s in the Craddle’ and Seals & Crofts’ ‘Summer Breeze’ makes me feel fine. [Something tells me this post is not going to resonate with the younger generation.] Do you Roku? If not you should; because Roku is fun, and fun is good!