Signs Your Child is Becoming Punk Rock

I knew my daughter, Little D, would be a little rocker-she's got my DNA, after all-but it wasn't until recently that I found out she was on her way to becoming a punk rocker. This past Sunday my wife and I took her for a morning stroll in the neighborhood and stopped by a yard sale. I'll admit that I was drawn there by the words "MUSIC" and "COMICS" on the cardboard sign we spotted at the street corner. This was D's first yard sale. What treasures might she discover on this adventure? The yard sale was the typical yard sale you would find in our 'hood. The sellers were young, covered in tattoos, and drinking Beer-Garitas. Individual blankets neatly placed along the sidewalk showcased their merchandise for sale: few comics (argh...), shoes, art house DVDs, some albums, etc. With the addition of music blasting from a small radio, they had a rocking yard sale going on. A perfect destination for my little rocker. As D and I examined the goods we came across a poster that caught my attention. It was a black-and-white poster of the punk band The Adicts. I immediately turned to my wife and said, "Hey, it's my friend Keith!" aka "Monkey" to his fans. The poster was an iconic portrayal of one of the oldest surviving punk bands still rocking the world stage today. Monkey is donning his face paint and dressed like one of the droog characters from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Immediately, the owner of the poster, overhearing our conversation, approached us and asked me how I knew Keith. I told him that Monkey's day job was working as an archaeologist like me. If you could have seen the expression on his face... archaeologist by day and punk rock legend by night. Hollywood could not come up with this type of material. The guy also asked me if I carried a whip. Then Sunday Morning Smart Alec told me I could have the Adicts poster for $10. And this is when my little girl showed us her punk rock side. Three-month-old D gave the guy the finger from her reclined position in her stroller, and then stuck that middle finger in her mouth and sucked on it. True story. Everyone at the yard sale thought it was the funniest thing. (My wife was horrified.) His friend turned to me and said, "He deserved it." Mr. Smart Alec was actually charmed by my D's gesture-"Wow, that's one cool kid..."-then said we could have the poster for $5. D was pleased. We strolled away with vintage Monkey/Adicts in hand, and my daughter tucked that middle finger away for our next yard sale or Smart Alec. Get your kids in touch with their punk rock sides with these Rockabye Baby releases!