10 Years Equals a Decade

G3 is 10 years old today. Ten years - a whole decade!

In those ten years, G3 has become a pretty avid reader like his dad. According to Son, lately he has been reading The Last Dragon Chronicles. I've never heard of that series before now.

At any rate, G3 has requested a birthday cake that looks like a stack of books and Son is more than willing to oblige. I'm excited to see the cake although it might be in pictures instead of in real life. I'm sure it will be perfect.

Yesterday G1 and I were at the mall so he could get a haircut - not that he didn't need one or anything - and while he was off doing that I took a walk down the mall to the bookstore. I wanted to see what other kinds of books they had for boys about G3's age.

I came across some of the Hardy Boys' mysteries. Son had mentioned G3 has recently read one of them. Now I, myself, was more of a Nancy Drew person back in the day, but I have read a few of the Hardy Boys' mysteries but it has been sometime ago - like maybe 5 decades or so ago.

The first in the series was The Tower Treasure and the bookstore had it on the shelf. I thought I remembered that one as being one of my favorites and bought it. (Shh - don't tell G3!) So I get home and very gently open the book so as not to crack the spine - that pleasure should be reserved for the owner after all.

I see the name "Applegate" and I'm sure I've got the right one but then I start reading about the story line and it doesn't say anything at all about "gold doubloons and pieces of eight". What?

So then I did a little 'googling' and found that the story I remember was actually Disney's adaptation of the The Tower Treasure. Oh well, so much for my memory. (But wasn't that Tim Consedine just the cutest!)

I hope G3 will enjoy the book even if it doesn't have pirate's treasure in it!

Happy 10th Birthday, G3! Enjoy all the books you read. The love of reading can take you anywhere you want to go.

PS. And for those who can remember back to the Mickey Mouse Club, here's the words to the song that went with the story I remember.

Gold doubloons and pieces of eight,

all belong to Applegate,

from buccaneers,

who fought for years,

for gold doubloons, and pieces of eight.

Handed down in a pirate's chest,

the gold they sailed for east and west,

the treasure bright,

that made men fight,

til none were left

to bury the chest.

So now the gold and pieces of eight,

all belong to Applegate,

the chest is here,

but, wait,

where are all the gold doubloons

and pieces of eight, pieces of eight, pieces of eight.