Swiper: An Other?

Bud is a toddler.

I'm not sure what it means to "toddle," but I'm sure it involves the regular repetition of the words "No," "Play" and some form of "Playroom" (C'lay-ma-loom). As I've noted earlier, when Bud is done eating, she declares "All Done!" and then proceeds to sing the "Clean Up" song while throwing on the floor whatever food remains in her tray. She really does think she's helping...thanks, Bud, but..uh, no thanks. All this is an attempt to get back to the playroom as quickly as possible.

She also has entered the age where she's obsessed with Dora the Explorer. Just in case you've been living under a rock, Dora the Explorer is a show featuring a Spanish speaking little girl, Dora, and her monkey friend, Boots, who together go on adventures. They find their way with the help of a character creatively named "The Map," all the while trying to dodge a masked fox named Swiper who's always trying to Dora-jack them. This Swiper is a real asshole, in one particular episode, Dora is helping a ladybug bring a cookie home to feed her ten (!!) children, when Swiper grabs it and throws it into the forest. Like I said- a real asshole. It's bad enough that this ladybug has ten kids; and you know it's a really bad situation when she needs to go deep into the forest to get ONE cookie to feed all ten kids. (Let's not even get into the questions of the nutritional value of the cookie as sustenance for even one kid...we can also skip the question: where was the ladybug's husband this whole time??) But Swiper didn't even eat the cookie: he just chucked it into the forest like that kid in camp when I was five who took my lollypop and threw it onto a rotten banana. Someone ought to kick that Swiper right in the junk.

I learned today, however, that the voice of Swiper is also the voice of the Map. Coincidence? I don't know about you, but I think this has the makings of a "Lost" plot...the Map has been one of the Others the whole time, secretly gaining the trust of Dora and her friends. And now, that her guard is down...he can direct the team right into the hands of Swiper.

I'm still working out how Dora can get into the Jack-Sawyer-Juliette-Kate situation.