Star Wars baby

We took a two-hour drive to see our nephews get baptized today. On the way back, the baby decided he had had Quite Enough of being in the car. About an hour into the drive, he started screaming inconsolably, and nothing we could do had any effect. I stopped and fed him and changed his diaper, then put him back in the car. He screeched. DH patted him on the head and gave him new and interesting toys. He screeched. I gritted my teeth and drove on, knowing there wasn't much I could do (besides park by the side of the road all night and play with him).

I was listening to the radio, as usual, jumping between stations and listening to whatever caught my interest. But baby was screaming so loudly I couldn't hear much. Finally, in annoyance, I switched on my daughter's "Star Wars" CD to the loudest track (the loud march from the end of Star Wars IV), figuring at least I could drown him out a bit.

Instant silence from the backseat.

I took my eyes off the road long enough to blink incredulously at DH, then kept driving. Baby was silent through the entire piece. I jumped to track 1 (the theme from the movie) and baby continued to be quiet, although he whimpered slightly when the music died down a bit. (DH said, "The boy likes brass instruments." That did appear to be an accurate assessment.) I turned up the music when he whimpered, and he went instantly silent.

All the way home, for the next forty minutes or so, we listened to "Star Wars," with baby silent except when the music got quieter. He didn't fall asleep, but he was quiet and murmuring softly to himself... as long as the music was loud. As we got within a few miles of home, I thought optimistically, "Well, it sounds like he's feeling better." I switched off "Star Wars" and turned on the oldies station. Angry squealing from the back seat immediately ensued.

I switched back to the march from "Star Wars." Instant silence, which persisted until we pulled into the garage.

What a weird kid I'm raising, huh?