Two men and their coats.

Joe now owns a parkour coat like the one I own which he took great delight in showing me. I particularly enjoyed Joe’s smile when I agreed to put on my coat so I would look like him.
  

Whenever I put my coat on I feel vaguely like one of the Gallagher brothers…
Joe has a smart watch, albeit a basic one. That is no problem to Joe. 
Joe’s watch can do some impressive things. There is a stop watch, a game and a music maker. The apps on the menu screen means that Joe can sweep right and left repeatedly and aimlessly. 
Joe finds this fun and he enjoys wearing the watch.
The watch is pretty big. It is far bigger than any watch I have ever owned. In fact it would not look out of place of Kanye West’s arm. 
Nobody in Joe’s close family owns a smart watch. Lots of us own smart phones and tablets. I think Joe likes the novelty of owning something he perceives as unique.
Even though Joe’s watch is unique (and relatively cheap) I sense that he feels that he fits in by owning something electronic. 
Ever since I have known Joe he has wanted to fit in. He wants to be the same as other people. I sincerely hope that in the future Joe feels like he belongs in society but I don’t wish he was like everyone else. I want Joe to continue to express himself in his own quirky manner.
This week I read a interesting article by Ed Smith in the New Statesman. The article describes how we need people to think outside the box; to go against the grain. I am sure we can all think of people that have had a profound effect on us and it is usually because they have offered ‘something different’. We need divergent thinkers in countless areas such as sport, business and the arts.
As my son Oliver grows up I would like to encourage him to think creatively as much as possible.
You can see in the photo that Joe and I look like the Gallagher brothers…without the money, fame and fans of course. One can dream…