Benjamin Jacob Newman Slusher
There is a coffee table in the basement of my sister's house in Bryan, Ohio. It is probably not much different than the coffee table in your basement right now. Round with a dark wood finish, a few dings along the edge, and a couple of drawers for storage. But, like so many of my late mother's belongings, every time I see it I am taken back to another place in time. 2003. Sitting in the brand new den my parents added to their home in Gahanna. My son Ben, one hand on this table, running laps around it. As fast as he could. For hours on end. And that's just who he was (and is) - his own person. He beats to his own drum, knows who he is and what he is all about. Most importantly he knows who he wants to be! Don't get me wrong, he no longer needs to burn off his energy wearing a path in the carpet around the table. Instead, he is a night owl, who has made friends all over this world with his love of anything super-hero or anime. His room in our basement looks like