Correction

Hey, I did something dumb. I wrote a short item for our arts news section this week about Ben Van Buren, the Burlington High School kid who posted that great musical college application video on YouTube.

The dumb part is that I unintentionally misquoted him. In the song, he sings, "My home life is tops / got a brother at home, two moms and no pops."

I thought he said his home life was "tough."

He emailed today and said thanks for mentioning the video, but he was surprised to read about my misinterpretation of his domestic situation. Ooops.

The distinction is kind of a big deal, because I pointed out that his moms are the lesbians who sued the state in 1993 to legalize same-sex adoption. Coincidentally, one of his moms is my lawyer, who helped us draw up the legal paperwork for me and my lesbian partner to have our son. So on one hand, I'm glad I was wrong, and on the other hand, I feel like a big shmuck.

What does it say about me, that I would misinterpret Ben's song this way? I guess I have some internalized homophobia kicking around or something. Or else it really does sound like he's saying "tough." Take a listen and weigh in if you want.

I also misidentified the Boston Conservatory as the Boston Observatory. Tough week for me, man.