Being the frustrated rocker I am, I’d love to take credit for this 20/20’s rock’n’roll’n’eyewear theme. No. Can. Do.

Last Christmas my son Gram got a Fender Stratocaster from Santa. (“It’s not Santa red Dad! It’s hot rod red.”) So for months now he has been telling me the 20/20 kids issue needed to “get rock’n’rolling or else you’re going to lose your kid customers.” Much like the car bug, the music bug has bitten him big time. But the idea stuck. And as the planning-fest started for this issue art director Iris Johnson jumped right on the rock theme.

But... that wasn’t enough for Gram. He told me I needed a “real rock kid” for the cover. “Ya know. One that’s on YouTube and has hit records and lots of fans. Girl fans. Boy fans. Even grown-up fans.” Tall order but as you can see from our cover the dream-scheme came through with bona fide rock star Jack Skuller donning a pair of hot Ray-Ban Aviators for kids.

And the kids in our actual eyewear shoot also wailed away big-time, taking to the guitars and cowbells and tambourines and fake tattoos with a fun-filled energy level that blew the roof off our photo studio.

Mission accomplished, right Gram? Well, not fully. Next year he wants cars for the theme. And when I asked him what cars and eyewear have to do with each other he quickly drew a pair of glasses and made them look like a car.

When it comes to eyewear... kids know.

James J. Spina
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]