Wobbegongs
There is a character named Jerico in Neal Schusterman's The Toll whose gender changes with the weather.
You could say it’s dictated by the heavens… When skies are clear, I choose to be a woman. When they are not, I am a man.
Something about the concept is really beautiful (though terribly impractical).
Jo is a lot like Jerico in that sense, not always one thing or another. Lately Jo is a he, so I’ll respect that in this space. And today Jo turns 15.
This week we've been painting together. He has been info-dumping about marionettes. And producing more Jo-isms:
“What if I was a false a prophet?”
“Jo, I don't even know how to respond to that. There are so many variables."
“What if I was a false prophet in the sense that I led a cult? ”
Five minutes later he is telling me there is a shark called the 'Ornate Wobbegong' and we both agree it sounds like something Lewis Carroll would come up with.
I just googled it. Honesty, it even looks a bit like a Lewis Carroll creation.
4:59 p.m. - 2023-08-01