The Samsung logo got my head spinning

Charlie came downstairs yesterday morning, sat on my lap for our customary five minutes of cuddling and conversation, and then went into the backroom to turn on the TV.

“Dad, come quick!” he shouted.

I did. When I arrived, Charlie was standing in front of the television, pointing at the screen. He had yet to turn the TV on, but apparently the cable box had been turned off the previous night but not the TV itself. As a result, the word “Samsung” was floating across the screen, bouncing from side to side.

“What is that? he asked.

A bunch of thoughts flooded my mind.

1. Wow. He’s reached the age of seven and never seen something as seemingly commonplace as this? Just imagine the multitude of things he has not seen or learned yet. He seems so wise and worldly at times, but in reality, he’s still just a seven year-old boy with lots and lots to learn.
2. It’s actually a very good question. What is this really? It’s not a screen saver because the screen is black. With the exception of the Samsung logo, the screen is not lit in any way at all.
3. I could tell him that it’s advertising the brand of TV, but why advertise something that we’ve already purchased? And does it really constitute an advertisement when you bounce the name of the company around the screen at the very moment when people are not watching the screen?
4. Maybe it’s meant to alert the owner that the TV is still turned on even though it’s receiving no signal. Sort of a warning that electricity is being wasted.
5. Now that he’s seen this, I can show him the classic DVD logo scene from The Office. Maybe I’ll even explain to him how much I miss Jim and Pam and Dwight and all the rest of the characters from that show and how uncommonly and oddly attached I became to them (and remain attached to them) over the years.
6. Did you know that there are well over 100 videos on YouTube of deleted scenes from The Office, filled with brand new content, excised subplots, surprising reveals, and more? Did you know that Robert California once planned a threesome with Jim and Pam? Have you seen the prank that Jim and Pam play on Dwight after finding his lost wallet? Watching these deleted scenes is like reuniting with an old friend after years of separation.

With my mind now swimming in thought, my answer to Charlie was a simple one. “It’s nothing, buddy. Want some breakfast?”

There’ll come a time when I will explain this tiny bit of the world to him in a way that is appropriate and fulfilling but not before sunrise, not when I’m still unsure of the answer to his question, and definitely not while my heart was aching once again for my friends from The Office.