I DON'T NEED NO STINKING WAND, I'VE GOT THE CLAPPER!

Reading Harry Potter, as we do every night (thank you, thank you, Diana!!), we get to a place where Hermione's writing an essay on why Muggles need electricity.

(Muggles, in case you've been living under a rock, are non-magic folk to the wizarding world. Duh!)

Anyway, so he asks me, "Mom, you're a Muggle, right?" (as though he weren't)

"Sure, son. Why?"

"Well, then you should be able to tell us why Muggles need electricity, then, huh?"

"Well, bubba, for the obvious reasons, like the fact that we can't just walk into a room and shout LUMOS! and expect the lights to come on."

And when the fits of laughter finally stopped, he says, "But, Mom, you can!"

"What are you talking about, son?" I ask cautiously, utterly aware that I was being set up.

"Well, I just saw on that commercial with the old lady who walks into the dark room and claps her hands twice and POOF! the light comes on, and then she does it again and POOF! the light goes out! It's just LIKE magic!"

"What? The Clapper? Are you telling me that the Clapper is some sort of magical tool? So, me walking around clapping my hands singing 'CLAP ON!' 'CLAP OFF!' makes me a wizard, does it?" Again with the fits of laughter. But once they were down, and I was getting into bed, I thought how cool it must be to have a mind that sees magic in even the silliest little things. And no, I'm not necessarily saying the As Seen On TV store is Hogsmeade, for goodness sakes, but maybe finding a little something out of this world in everyday objects is not such a bad way to live. Point taken, you crazy boy. ...