Green army men. My childhood memories are full of countless hours of being on my stomach, floor or dirt, staring down dozens upon dozens of brightly colored green army men. Frozen in amazingly epic poses, these little soldiers exploded through my young mind in an imaginary telling of battles and wars that out-exploded and out-dramatized even the longest of Steven Speilberg or Tom Hanks sagas. Yes, even the flag carriers and the communications and radio guys had a role, albeit a small and often short cameo.

And as I sit in front of these green plastic soldiers once again, this time with a battle obsessed three year old engaged in his version of Pearl Harbor involving toy soldiers and plastic ninjas and samurai,  I grin with a knowing green that only an old man can have. Boys and their toys.

Yes, critics have accused army men of advocating gun violence and militarism. And yes they have been banned from schools and daycare programs with zero tolerance weapon policies. And I do know of an overly enthusiastic parent who on one occasion, asked her children to clip the weapons off of plastic army men. And yet …

What do you have there? I ask the boy, looking to engage him into conversation.

Soldiers on surfboards … he says rather matter-of-factly, continuing his assault on the soldiers with ninjas hiding inside a small box.

I’m sorry, what did you say?

Soldiers on surfboards! says the boy again.

And I stared at the little green soldiers in their stoic poses, forever grounder to their green platform bases designed to make them steady yet immobile. Yes, they were indeed shaped like surfboards. And although perhaps only a child growing up in Hawaii’s surf culture – exposed to parents and friends who surf on a daily basis – can make the connection between toys soldiers standing on surfboards, the little voice rang true. Soldiers … little green army men … on surfboards.

Perhaps we do see what we want to see in all that is around, and perhaps we interpret things that we see based solely on the limited experience we have had … but soldiers on surfboards seems like a good thing to me.

And so together – this wise-beyond-his-years boy and I – stopped the epic battle between ninjas, samurai, and soldiers and proceeded to make them surf happily together.