of lost boys and wild things

Observing the wave of Peter Pan syndrome that's swept across Manhattan in Where the Wild Things Are's wake (likely from the direction of Williamsburg), I wonder if the phenomenon has less to do with nostalgia than with self-recognition in an island of sensitive and destructive creatures. "I wish you guys had a mom," says Max, looking into one Wild Thing's eyes. I can imagine a Lost Boy or two who's inspired the same reaction in me along the way.


JM Barrie, Peter Pan's author, suggested that girls are "much too clever" to be sent to Never Never Land, but the photo above might suggest otherwise. That's me, Deanna, and Erin, finding our inner Wild Things in Isla Vista, California--Never Never Land on earth, if there ever was. That shot was taken in 2003--I think by the big brother of that little boy on the left. I wonder how old he is now.

See Vanity Fair.com (click), for my elaboration on this idea.

where the wild things are