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SOUTH JORDAN — A Utah father is becoming a social media sensation with his unique approach to the middle-school carpool.
Each week, new characters surprise kids with a 10-minute ride of comedy and adventure, and he’s hoping it brings light and laughter to the kids’ day.
With characters from “Back to the Future,” Blue Man Group, and even “Mary Poppins,” Seth King and his wife Angie are breaking the mold when it comes to parenting and the middle-school carpool.
On Instagram, they’re known as “Late Notes.” Angie started the account because of funny and heartfelt notes Seth was sending to school when their kids were sometimes late.
This year, though, brought a new opportunity.
It was their daughter Sophia’s first day of ninth grade, and they could tell it was causing her anxiety. To distract her, the character of “Silly Wonka” was born.
“I think it made her happy,” Seth said. “It caught her off guard at first, but by the end, we were joking and laughing.”
Since then, he’s stashed masks and costumes throughout the house.
“I’ve got some prosthetic ears, some puppets,” Seth said. “Just a normal 42-year-old man’s closet, right?”
” … A lot of our kids struggle with anxiety,” Angie said. “Everybody has different coping mechanisms, but I think for our family it’s laughter — just being together and just making situations a little bit lighter with laughter.”
