Senile Puerility

As we move into another phase of the cinematic year the studios are starting to throw their end of year cluster at us.  This meant a second date night which is never a bad thing, especially when I’m motivated, but more on that below.  We went to see Last Vegas mainly because it has three of the best actors around as well as Michael Douglas.  It was like one of the Hangover movies with a Viagra laced wolf pack.

The story involved four lifelong friends now in their seventies who link up in Las Vegas for a bachelor party as the lone hold out, Douglas, finally gets married.  There’s some funny stuff here as the codger factor is applied to the youthful excesses of Sin City.  All of these actors are superb and when you throw Mary Steenburgen into the mix you’re guaranteed an excellent movie.  This isn’t very deep and it looked like they all had fun poking fun at themselves. 

Now back to that motivation comment; I came home from work to find my industrious wife hard at work painting the guest bathroom.  In order to spare her wardrobe from ruin she was wearing only a t-shirt.  It was extremely fetching and like I said, color me motivated.  (I apologize to the kids for the ewwww factor there)

G-Rated Photo of My Wife's Painting outfit

Earlier in the day I was able to sneak in a hump day lunch with my favorite son.  He’s in the process of growing a goatee as directed by the MEF.  He’s having about as much success as I did when my first fiancé asked me to grow a beard in college.  He’s definitely in love and since I’d been there I didn’t make too many observations.  These lunches are one of the biggest highlights of my week.

Father and Son Yesterday

At the other end of the spectrum we have the breathless non-stop coverage of the “bullying” scandal involving 300 pound millionaires.  It’s interesting to see the locker room culture exposed by the relentless news feed.  The supposed bully is being roundly supported by his own teammates, both black and white, while the victim is censured for making the bullying public.

I think it’s a generational thing because I went through some pretty robust “hazing” in my college fraternity which I found was based clearly on the military training I later went through at a number of different training posts.  There was definitely a bonding that resulted but it was also clear that some of the trainers/bullies enjoyed it more than was appropriate.  I say generational because I think the societal values have changed.  This type of archaic practice is no longer validated.  Military trainees now have “stress cards” they can use when a drill sergeant is too unpleasant and school bullies are now rightfully vilified as the lowest form of pond scum.

This brings us back to the millionaires.  NFL football players are never encouraged to grow up. From the time they emerge as top college prospects in high school to becoming gods on their college campus to having millions thrown at them in the NFL – they’re never required to mature.   We end up with behemoths who are still operating on a high school social level and the puerile antics now being deemed acceptable by the Dolphins result.  It’s to their credit that most NFL players do mature despite the roadblocks thrown up.  Mr. Incognito didn’t bother as he now tries to live up to his name.

Time to Grow Up

A final update on Miss Louise as I grant her the privacy she’s more than earned with her valiant fight.  My brother in law reports she has confounded the doctors to the point they’ve decided to move her from the hospice to a rehab center with a real possibility of her eventually returning home; an unbelievable statement based on what we knew Sunday night.  There’s some real iron beneath that gentle exterior.  Please keep some of your prayers headed her way.