On fire

So, um, no: Cleo didn't watch all of the Ravens' entertaining win last night. In fact, she spent most of the first half in my lap reading picture books, a quiet pole in a circus tent of a Super Bowl party at which the shrieks of about 15 small children more or less completely drowned out the play-by-play. And she was just going to bed when Jacoby Jones took the opening kick of the second half to the house. But she did see some of the halftime show, even as she also devoted most of her attention to a game of Cariboo, with L. And, when she did happen to look up, she saw - well, she saw what you see, above. A guitar, of course, with flames kicking out of both ends, as Beyonce cavorted nearby.

What does a 3-year-old make of such a spectacle? What can any of us make of such a scene? As I've noted before, Cleo - and most of the Yellowbirds - are fans of Alicia Keys' recent hit 'Girl on Fire, with its bold, anthemic claim that 'This girl is on fi-i-re.' And so it made a certain beautiful sense when Cleo paused, and then suggested that the song unfolding on the screen could be called 'This Guitar is on Fire." In fact, given that Keys had already sung the national anthem before the game, it was about as tight a cultural reference as one could make. Keys, Beyonce, and sparking instrument, all wrapped up into one acorn, courtesy of your neighborhood 3-year-old.