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Paternity Leave Ends! And I Find Myself…

2013-07-30 · story · John · 2:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life · mode: Personal update · tags: on location, community lore

Back from paternity leave and unexpectedly in an airport on his way to VidCon, John recounts a month on Lake Michigan and how Henry, three and a half, announced that Germans like digging holes, a stereotype absorbed in the Netherlands at age one.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — John is back from paternity leave and finds himself in an airport (smoking and heroin gag)

  • ★★ John announces he is back from paternity leave, says he missed viewers and had a wonderful time at home with his family. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John is in an airport on his way to VidCon. — 00:00:12 · VidCon

00:00:28 — A month with family on Lake Michigan; Nerdfighters recognise him shirtless at the beach; 'movie magic' cut to California

  • ★★ Before this John spent the last month with his family on Lake Michigan, 'the United States' third coast': beautiful water, sunsets, and people who 'pretend to have a war' for Independence Day. — 00:00:25
  • ★★ Many Nerdfighters were on the Lake Michigan coast, but John only met them when he took his shirt off at the beach and someone would ask if he was John Green. (playful) — 00:00:41 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★ John defers his story until California and cuts to his hotel ('Movie... Magic!'), calling it a joke six hours in the making. (joke) — 00:00:54

00:00:59 — Henry says Germans like digging holes: origin in the Netherlands, Dutch complaints about German beach holes; Henry's first cultural stereotype

  • ★★★ Digging holes on a Michigan beach, Henry, three and a half, asked John who likes digging holes and answered: Germans. — 00:01:12 · Henry Green
  • ★★★ When Henry was one the family lived in the Netherlands while John researched The Fault in Our Stars; Dutch people said they thought little of Germans not because of the war but because Germans dig holes in their beaches. — 00:01:34 · The Fault in Our Stars, Henry Green
  • ★★ This happened about six times and John and Sarah remarked on it, apparently in front of Henry; on a Dutch beach they then saw German speakers digging huge holes with full-size shovels. (playful) — 00:01:53 · Sarah Urist Green, Henry Green
  • ★★ That Henry remembered this from age one worries John about what else he remembers, such as John swearing during Liverpool games. (playful) — 00:02:08 · Henry Green
  • ★ John jokes that it is time for Germans and Dutch people to have a constructive dialogue about holes in beaches. (joke, hedged) — 00:02:21
  • ★★★ At three and a half Henry already has his first cultural stereotype, hole-digging Germans, which John thinks says a lot about humans. (hedged) — 00:02:28 · Henry Green

00:02:42 — Thanks to Nerdfighteria and the guest hosts; hotel room; sign-off

  • ★★ John thanks Nerdfighteria for being understanding during his paternity leave and the guest hosts who made it more fun than 'regular me'; links in the doobly-doo. — 00:02:42 · Nerdfighteria, doobly-doo
  • ★ John thanks Hank for the hotel room and will see him downstairs after editing. — 00:02:50 · Hank Green

In the description and comments

Humor (significant)

  • John gushes about being home with his family after paternity leave, then looks around — 00:00:12

    “Am I in an airport?! Dang it!”

  • Told he can't smoke inside, John asks whether he may snort heroin instead — 00:00:21

    “What is this, an airport or a monastery?”

  • Digging holes on the beach, Henry asks John if he knows who likes digging holes — 00:01:31

    “he looked at me and he said, "Germans".”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Henry Green

Also: People: Alice Green · Sarah Urist Green

Projects: VidCon

Works: The Fault in Our Stars

Organizations: Liverpool FC

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: stereotype

Places: California · Lake Michigan · Michigan · Netherlands

Events: Independence Day (United States) · World War II

Only in the description or credits: Craig Benzine · Grace Helbig · Hannah Hart · MagicTurtle643 · Rosianna Halse Rojas · Sabrina Cruz

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