Poolside in Rhode Island

A fairly quiet day yesterday (at least for the first part) as we waited for the driveway to dry, something that may stretch into Tuesday at this rate.  We were gearing up for a trip down to Rhode Island to celebrate the May birthday of my brother in law.  That statement tells you all you need to know about the strict adherence to timeliness of my sister and her fabulous in laws.  The Keene Friend also showed up to join us for the rest of the weekend.

Wing Man's Creation

Wing Man spent the day creating a draft board for today’s fantasy football draft.  The “kids” have convinced us older fans that we are missing out on some serious fun by not participating in this burgeoning enterprise.  My son has formed a family league and we’re hosting the draft today.  The BFA and her parents, the keen Friend as well as my sister/brother in law will also participate so this should be fun if for no other reason than we get to hang out together again today. Wing Man takes part in no less than six different leagues so he’s kind of a ringer in our fledging enterprise.  I am fully prepared to be seriously “schooled”.

Buddy and his Date Last Night

My daughter’s NYC friend was feeling a little under the weather so she stayed home while we went to Rhode Island.  Buddy was left to entertain her or vice versa.  My daughter received an innocent text from her asking “Was Buddy fed or is he always hungry?”  That pretty much sums up the Buddy experience.  She was also treated to his storm response when the town set off some fireworks.  It’s never boring around this canine.

Start of the Party, from left, My Wife, Me, Brother in Law, His Sister, His Niece
Keene Friend in the Foreground

It was a brisk late summer eve as we set up shop poolside on my sister’s back deck.  My brother in law and I employed some tactical acumen by establishing ourselves in seats that were blocked at either end of the table which meant someone else had to get up to replenish our drinks.  This was not our first rodeo.  Wing Man earned his appellation.

The Siblings

It was good to see my brother in law’s brother who recently underwent some major surgery which prevented him from attending my son’s wedding.  He’s on the mend and the best indication was his joining the signature sport at one of these gatherings which is torturing his sister; she of the arcane ability to ruin Red Sox seasons.  She was seated next to the Cantankerous Friend at the wedding and firmly established her reputation for a complete lack of judgment by stating he was a wonderful dinner companion.  The entire deck erupted in sustained laughter at this statement (they all know him).

The Viking Helmet!

We steered her away from any sports discussion and discoursed on the imminent demise of one of her idols – Joan Rivers.  She was monitoring the tweets from Rivers’ daughter throughout the night.  I tried to assure her that until someone showed up with a wooden stake and holy water that she didn’t have anything to worry about.  She lodged a protest concerning the BFA’s nick name on this blog.  She felt it was not cool enough for such a fine young lady.  I assured her that the BFA was happy with her name almost as much as her husband (my son) resented it (so, win/win).

The Last of the Beer Disappears

I don’t think we stopped laughing for the entire night as my sister pelted us with wave after wave of food.  A Viking helmet appeared at some point and no one fell into the pool which I considered a victory.  I thought we brought way too much beer with us but these gatherings have a way of putting lies to such beliefs.  An all too much fun evening as we remembered the gallant Miss Louise on her birthday and enjoyed the close family which is her true legacy to the world.

Dashing Madly

I was at the mercy of the women in my life yesterday which meant a fair amount of scrambling on my part.  My wife had two appointments in Worcester and decreed that I was fortunate enough to accompany her to lunch between said appointments.  My daughter was also inbound to Connecticut from NYC and due to some e-mail issues I didn’t learn she was arriving much earlier than usual until yesterday morning.  It would be a tight schedule but I figured I could manage it; until an Italian colorist and driveway sealant specialist inserted themselves into the planning process.

My wife reported there was a new colorist (whatever the hell that is) at the hairdresser and for that reason she was running more than an hour late.  She finally arrived and we achieved our speed-eating merit badge at lunch leaving the restaurant 23 minutes after we walked through the door.  After I dispatched the wife towards her next appointment I learned from my daughter that she’d caught an even earlier train!

I had to leave immediately and would now make my way through the intricacies of Connecticut holiday traffic without a co-pilot (not for the meek of heart).  I stopped by the house on my way home to pick up a needed item and was greeted by the contractor we’d hired to seal the driveway.  He said he might be able to make it today but since I hadn’t heard from him I assumed it would happen later.  He was a pretty crusty guy but I liked him.  He was accompanied by his wife who looked like she’d done some serious chemicals in her youth.

I then called my wife at the doctor’s office and told her to cash a check on her way home to pay the contractor while I got on the road to New Haven.  The contractor had to wait for fifteen minutes after they finished before my wife got home.  We later discovered a phone message the contractor’s wife left on our phone while they were waiting.  She forgot to turn off her phone and left some pretty colorful remarks about having to wait, highly entertaining but at least they did a great job on the driveway.

The Gussied Up Driveway

My drive through Connecticut was uneventful if slightly(!) dismissive of the salient traffic laws.  While making my way south I noticed the north bound side of the highway was at a standstill.  Luckily I had the expert I-Phone navigation skills of my daughter for the return trip.  We discovered another bridge over the Connecticut River and made our way back only fifteen minutes longer than an unobstructed trip.  I think there are some people still sitting on the regular highway – it was that bad.

My daughter and Wing Man were joined by one of their (and our) NYC friends, the object of fascination for Panamanian wedding videographers (I’m told 6 foot blondes with tattoos are rare in the tropics).  We love having her come visit and Buddy quickly identified her as his primary affection target.  She’s moving to California in a month so we’re glad she’s joining us for the weekend’s frivolity.  We established ourselves in the corner booth at Zorba’s and had one of those evenings where the conversation and laughter rarely paused.  It was exactly the kind of time I needed after my mad dashing earlier on.

Hard to Beat Friday Night at Zorba's With This Bunch

The real estate agent forwarded the listing that is going up for the house.  I know they’re using some salesperson hyperbole but it was nice to see they understood what a cool house this is.  These are the words and some of the impressive photos they shot on Thursday.  It’s amazing how fast this process moves.

Beautiful 4 bed 2.5 bath Colonial with STUNNING MOUNTAIN VIEWS! Close To Glen Echo Lake! Great layout for entertaining! Kitchen with dining area boasts hardwood floors, granite counters, large center island, stainless steel appliances and lots of cabinet/counter space. Sliding glass doors lead out to large back deck, perfect for BBQs! Formal dining and living rooms with gleaming hardwood floors and lots of natural light. Sun filled living room features spectacular view of the mountains, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings and fireplace. Large master suite with walk in closet and private bath complete with jacuzzi tub and linen closet. Enjoy evenings relaxing on the wrap around Farmers Porch! Beautifully landscaped yard! Home complete with 2 car attached garage. Easy access to Route 20 and the Mass Pike! Will not last! Schedule your showing today!

Finality

The sign is up.  The “For Sale” sign has gone up in front of our house as the week long cleaning binge culminated with two hours of photos and diagraming by a young man from the real estate agency.  The last thing he did was emplace the sign in front.  It’s strange how as simple an act as that can illicit such emotions.  My wife and I watched from the family room as the sign went up. While this was a decision we both agreed with, the finality of announcing to the world brought a crashing sense of reality. 

Powerful Sign

It had more of an emotional wallop than either of us was prepared for.  It’s asking price or we’re staying.  Since those emotions are directly in line with the BFA’s stated position we broke cover and indulged in some very non-keto ice cream from nearby Ronnie’s.  Buddy was happy to just be out of the kennel for an extended time.

I watched the news last night and saw what has to be the absolute nadir of Obama’s abysmal foreign policy record.  He actually went in front of the media and said, “We have no strategy for dealing with ISIS”.  While this will play well with his progressive apologists and certainly the Cantankerous Friend – it is, in fact, an abject lie. 

ISIS has been around for more than a year now as a recognized threat.  From the time I spent in the Pentagon I know the planners there have a series of comprehensive strategic options prepared that encompass all aspects of America’s might, not just military.  Yet we have the commander in chief stating, we have no strategy.  For those of you who do not understand (or choose not to because of progressive bias) our president just announced to the world that he is incompetent.

The Great Ditherer

I find this “head in the sand” approach to foreign affairs strange in the man who ordered the Bin Laden raid.  Has Washington truly consumed him?  At a time when the world is screaming for leadership we have this.  The despots of the world must relish this rare opportunity, unseen since the Carter years, of such hesitancy from the banks of the Potomac.  Russian troops are streaming across the border into Ukraine precisely because of the dithering approach of our leader. 

I’m not one of those guys that harken back to the past and say we have no future.  There is an innate strength of spirit in this land that is unrivaled.  The Great Communicator knew this strength lay dormant at times.  A very good friend posted a version of this video of him which seems prescient when applied to the situation in the world today.  I only bemoan the fact we have two more years of leadership vacuum while the very real problems continue to fester through lack of attention.  The price in blood that will eventually be required goes up each day.

Cleaning Despot Empowered

I’m going to admit it.  I am totally gassed.  Yesterday was supposed to be a mundane Wednesday with the added benefit of a return to lunches with the son now that he’s through honeymooning.  That was before I remembered that the realtor is sending a photographer to the house today to take photos to market the house.

Son and I Yesterday

When we asked the realtor the other day what we had to do to prep the house for the photographer he looked around and said, “nothing – it looks great”.  I took the man at his word but he didn’t understand who he was dealing with.  My wife takes it to a whole ‘nother level when we have guests and the thought that potentially (hopefully) thousands seeing pictures of “her” house sent her into a cleaning frenzy.

I was sucked into the vortex upon my unfortunate return from work.  I was charged with power washing the deck and front porch and cleaning the huge window in the family room.  My wife is terrified of thunderstorms (I think that’s where Buddy picked up his fear from) and she will usually pester me if I’m outside if a thunderstorm is within fifty miles.  I guess her cleaning fanaticism overcame her fear for my safety because I was perched on a metal ladder extending a long metal pole to reach the peak of the window while a truly impressive storm descended on us.  I think she chose to ignore the elements as long as a single spider web remained on the window.  I usually love getting up close and personal with thunderstorms but I’ll have to admit to a touch of nervousness as the squeegee made its tortuously slow ministrations.

Buddy was sentenced to his kennel early on.  He’s been through this before (seen my wife in a cleaning frenzy) and knows he can do little right at this point.  The interesting thing was that he rode out the storm in fairly calm manner for him.  We may have stumbled on to the answer – get him into the kennel before the storm hits and leave the lights on.  We can no longer give him the storm stress drugs – Defecatapocalypse 1 and 2 clearly took that option off the table.

Once I was driven inside by the storm I was handed a paint brush and put to work spot painting the kitchen and cleaning baseboards.  This brought back memories of childhood as one of my mother’s most thankless chores that her children (my sisters and I) hated with a passion.  I was also instructed to clean the walls where “my” dog had brushed up against.  At this point I half way considered joining Buddy in his kennel.

I think my wife is enjoying the prospect of selling the house on only one level.  She’ll be able to maintain her preferred surgical suite level of cleanliness if/when people come to see the house.  For all the work I did yesterday I know she spent the entire day doing even more; kind of makes it hard to complain.  At least to her, I kinda hope she doesn’t read the blog today.  I guess she really is the boss of me (childhood argument 101 finally settled).

Sinfully Challenged

I was finally and inexorably drawn into the whole ALS ice bucket challenge yesterday.  I dodged two earlier attempts from Keene Friend 2 and my sister because I was just too busy so I made the donation to ALS and moved on.  Then, out of the blue, an ex-girlfriend whom I haven’t seen in over thirty years (do the math, anything less and I would be in trouble) sent me the challenge all the way from Belgium.

Since she was one of the only girlfriends that ever dumped me (and rightfully so) there was no way I was passing again.  I also felt I owed both Keene Friend 2 and my sister for their earlier efforts to douse me.  I therefore filled three five gallon pails of water and a couple bags of ice (no small bowls like some, who shall not be mentioned, sis).  My wife was having entirely too much fun videoing the event so when it came to my own challenge time she was named.  This had the unintended effect of ceasing the video just as the first bucket was raised.  She overcame her shock fast enough to catch the final two buckets.

Challenge Completed Thricely

This turned out to be a good thing because she missed the facial expressions when that first bucket of cold water hit my head but resulted in having to load two videos onto Facebook.  In a moment that will register shock waves with our children – my wife is the one who figured out how to download the videos to Facebook since I was clueless.  Buddy was capering around trying to figure out why the dumb humans would choose to get wet.  It will be interesting to see if my wife can overcome her potent fear that approaches allergic levels to cold water – more to follow.

Wife's Assistant Yesterday

She had a great day yesterday as she got her “grandmother fix” when the next door neighbors asked her to look after their impossibly cute daughter for a couple hours.  They spent the time gardening and doing their nails out on the front porch.  Since we’re seeing all of our “kids” this weekend I thought it was only fair to warn them.

Flower Girl in Wife's Garden

Split dates last night as my wife did not want to see Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For (huh!?)and I wasn’t in any mood for her chick flick of choice.  We each went our separate ways and I had the entire theater to myself to luxuriate in the sequel to one of my favorite movies of all time.  This new movie had the same groundbreaking digital effects scenery of the first where most of the action is in black and white with just a few objects colorized.  My favorite character, the indestructible Marv, was back pulverizing anything in his way while Miho decapitated henchmen by the bushel.  I guess this was a prequel in some ways since when we last saw Marv he was riding an electric chair. Some of the other returning characters were dealing with events from the first movie. 

I really liked this second movie but it didn’t have the same dark edge of the original, it was a little too brightly lit.  There were some new characters introduced who more than held their own led by Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Eva Green (or more correctly Eva’s breasts which are on full display for most of the movie).  Sin City is like film noir on some amazing performance enhancing drugs.  It doesn’t apologize for being violent or absurd but revels in it.  My wife would have hated it almost as much as I loved it.

MARV!!!!

I finished my frenzied run through the next Vince Flynn book in the Mitch Rapp series with Separation of Power.  This picks up the action a couple weeks after the events in the previous book with Mitch preparing to propose and leave his CIA assassin life behind.  Of course the bad guys (Washington politicians for the most part) have other ideas.  Rapp then has to power his way through the subterfuge and rescue a beautiful model/ex-girlfriend/fellow assassin which doesn't sit too well with his lady love.  On top of his romantic issues Mitch takes a moment to invade Iraq.

You can probably tell why i love this character so much after reading the last paragraph.  Flynn spends a little to much time creating the fiendish bad guys and the book slows to a crawl for those pages.  That's almost a good thing and a needed breather because when Flynn returns to Rapp the reader takes off at literally breathtaking speed.  I think you can probably guess that I kind of liked the book, especially the last 50 pages which I could not send down range fast enough.  I've already started reading the next in the series, it's what i do to myself. 

Rampant Reflection

The House on the Hill We May Be Saying Goodbye to
Buddy Standing his Post at the Front Door

Yesterday was the big decision day.  My wife and I met with the realtor now that the last of the debris seems to have fallen back to earth from the events surrounding our son’s wedding.  The guy was honest about what we could get for the house even with all the improvements we’ve made since buying it in 2005.  I have purchased two houses in my life and had the intrepid luck to buy at the market’s absolute peak each time. 

We decided to take the plunge and put the house on the market because it is just too big for two people and there do not appear to be any local grandchildren on anything like short final approach.  It was a little cathartic to talk with the agent about our reasons for leaving because we both absolutely love the house along with some truly superb neighbors.  It’s just not home. 

I’m not sure I’ll ever recapture that long lost dream of a home that gleams in the mists of memory of nearly every career military guy; hence the well-worn military saying – “You can never go home”.   The vagabond lifestyle was fine for the young man who set out on what turned out to be a fairly miraculous trip to the various and sundry places of the earth.  That young man now sits here typing with gray, thinning hair desperate to find that place, which is really more of a feeling, he left so seamlessly back in 1978. 

The funniest thing was after signing the papers and starting the process last night I was overwhelmed with a sense of melancholy.  We’ve put so much work into this house which we really thought was going to be our last abode.  It owns so many memories, our last times with our beloved goldens, Skyla and Estrella, my son’s wacky college parties with bodies strewn about the property on Sunday morning, the first best weekend ever, and most of all, meeting Wing Man and the BFA (our third and fourth children). 

My wife sensed the conflicting emotions I was dealing with.  This is where the thirty-two years of marriage comes in handy.  I’m excited about the possibility of moving back to my home town but all of that is contingent on selling the house.  The good thing is we don’t have to sell so any prospective buyer will have to come close to our price which the realtor says is not guaranteed.  This will make the BFA very happy as she does not want to lose the connection to this house.  We agreed to leave it on the market until November and then take a six month break until spring if it hasn’t sold by then.  This will ensure the holidays aren’t impacted.  Again a nice position to be in, to not have to sell, but that shiny object is still beckoning through the mists.

Sunday Somnambulance

I spent most of yesterday recovering from the shock of my wife’s choice not to go out dancing on Saturday night; a decision that sent shock waves through the western hemisphere.  It helped that yesterday was arguably a perfect day, warm temperatures and no humidity.  This summer has been remarkable weather wise with no extended heat waves and the cool summer nights I remembered from my youth. 

My Wife to Buddy Last Evening on the Deck
"Repeat After me - I Will NOT Try to Eat the BFA's Cat Next Time"

After the obligatory Sunday errands I tackled the lawn and my painting project while my wife conducted extended PanaGal consultations through a variety of media (phone to facebook to skype and back to phone)with cohorts in Panama.  We both ended up on the back deck as the sun was departing the realm.  Buddy was also present to receive his continued feline tolerance counseling (falling on deaf ears so far). 

Buddy Admiring My Bold Fashion Statement of Lounge Pants

Buddy was also lodging complaints about his restricted access to his domain.  I painted the basement floors a couple years ago which is Buddy’s habitat.  He apparently took offense to this since he’s been wreaking havoc on the paint since that time.  Every time there’s a thunderstorm I find a new spot where he tried to tunnel through the basement floor.  Paint is nowhere near as sturdy as concrete (who knew?). HE spent the entire afternoon taking me over the closed basement door and asking as eloquently as you can non-verbally to inspect the state of “his” room.  I made a bold guess that having the dog track gray paint throughout the house was probably not a good idea.

Buddy Wondering What Happened to All of His Post-Modern Etchings in the Basement Floor

We spoke briefly with our daughter who reported the opening of a new restaurant in her Brooklyn neighborhood which came with an outdoor patio for late Sunday evening beverages.  I’m amazed at the transformation of her neighborhood in the almost decade she’s lived there.  When we first saw it seemed like a collection of warehouses and little else. Every time we’ve returned there’s something new – along with a tidal wave of “hipsters”.   

Daughter and Wing Man at Their New Restaurant Last Night

She and Wing Man have their hearts set on moving to California.  We’d be a lot more upset at the distance involved if they didn’t dangle the prospect of grandchildren as inducement.  I’m not so sure about the California thing despite the fact that I’ve loved every visit I’ve made there (San Francisco remains one of my favorite cities of all time).  It seems if there isn’t a drought, there’s a wild fire, or mudslide or earthquake where the whole thing falls into the ocean.  Nature’s attack yesterday on the pretentious wine crowd is the latest example.

Feline/Canine Summit Failure

Yesterday saw the springing of an ambush on the BFA and my son.  The BFA’s parents were picking up the honeymooners in Boston as they returned from Hawaii.  They asked if we would come up for breakfast and surprise the returning couple.  A great plan except the BFA’s mother insisted we bring Buddy the Wonder Pooch along to greet his favorite human, my son. 

The plan had the BFA’s beloved cats isolated in the basement while Buddy held court on the first floor. Buddy immediately picked up the scent of something feline and was scouring the first floor in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the cats.  He contented himself with a catnip mouse which hung forlornly from his mouth as he paced about.  He barely noticed my son as he was transfixed with the intriguing smells. 

The Newlyweds - Son and BFA

The BFA’s cats are huge and have dominated other visiting dogs so the BFA’s dad thought we ought to give them a chance.  They eyed each other for about five seconds before the cat realized this dog wasn’t being intimidated and decided to leave the room.  Buddy interpreted this as an indication the cat would like to be chased.  Chaos ensued as several humans tried to tackle Buddy in the midst of his hot pursuit as plants, tables, and even a heating vent were knocked out of place.  Buddy spent the rest of the visit in his cage admiring the front yard flora and fauna while the cat tried to re-acquire his shattered calm behind a corner table.

This small, yet exciting, episode couldn’t detract from the time spent with some of my favorite people.  The newlyweds were understandably exhausted and not just from their honeymoon efforts.  Anyone who’s ever made the flight from Hawaii to the East Coast will understand the mind numbing price of all that time in the air.  They consider the price well worth the time spent in Hawaii itself.  They finally got a chance to decompress from the months of stress associated with the wedding plans, et al. 

Breakfast on the Deck

We lived in Hawaii when my son was in second grade and he hated it because the Hawaiian kids were fairly racist and would pick on the blond headed haole mercilessly.  He claims they’re still picking on him because he was selected out of the crowd at the luau they attended and “forced” to go up on stage with a beautiful Hawaiian lady to perform a hula dance.  There was a big group brought up on the stage and he thought he could meld into the group until his escort informed him he was to be the star of the show.  Everyone else departed the stage and he had to perform for the 500 people there.  Luckily he had several mai tais down range at this point.  The BFA said it was one of the funniest things she’s ever seen and promised pictures of this signature event for the blog.

The Moms Consult

As with any time spent with this group it sped by and the “kids” really needed to get on their own way home to begin the battle with jet lag.  We had to return our recalcitrant hound dog for additional feline sensitivity training so we reluctantly said goodbye.  This really felt like the last chapter being closed on the son/BFA wedding and I didn’t want it to end.

I had to return because I had a project envisioned at home where I was going to repair all the minor nicks and gouges the pain in the house has sustained over the last nine years.  It was an interesting project as I tried to match colors with paint cans that hadn’t been opened in the ensuing nine years. My wife assumed her role as Greek Chorus to my efforts and I prayed that each new color would dry to match. 

Yesterday, the 23^rd of August in the year of our Lord 2014 shall be remembered for another momentous event.  I invited my wife to go out dancing and she eventually declined.  Those who know her know that my next remark was concern for her health.  This is a woman who was out dancing when she was 8.9999 months pregnant.  She never misses out on a chance to cut some rug.  She spent the better part of the evening up trying on different outfits and seeking PanaGal input with texted photos.  She asked me for my opinion on several outfits.

Those marital lessons continue to pay off dividends as I wandered into that minefield and told her she looked fabulous for each one.   We were getting close to departure time when she said she didn’t want to go. I think she exhausted herself from all the wardrobe changes or just felt the accumulated effects from the past few weeks of celebration.  We contented ourselves with an old Schwarzenegger movie since his new stuff is so bad.  She did finally reach a decision on dancing attire and said we would use it in a couple weeks when she had recovered her mojo. 

Late Better than Ever

Yesterday began with the annual visit to the dentist where I was reacquainted with Ilsa the Torturing Dental Hygienist in her never ending quest to see if my lip really can be pulled down over my chin.  I may be exaggerating there a bit.  I guess it’s part of the hygienist’s code that if the patient doesn’t complain it must not hurt.  This always comes in to conflict with my male pride refusing to admit anything hurts, so my own fault. 

I noticed a very attractive Latina when I entered the dental office and filed it away under viewing the menu while maintaining dietary restrictions.  I was more than surprised when Ilsa finished her lip stretching session to have the young lady walk in and introduce herself as my new dentist.  Since we go to the same dental office I insured I informed my wife about this development at the earliest opportunity.  It’s taken over three decades but I may be getting the hang of this married stuff.  The wife opined that she may accompany me to all future dental appointments due to my “well known attraction to Latin women”.

The First Friday of the Week ceremonies were conducted with their normal aplomb.  My excellent boss took the week for vacation so the session was decidedly less profane.  I got a chance to speak with the guy from the planning group who caused all the verbal gymnastics with my boss last week while I was away.  He’s a good guy and was mystified about the hub bub that erupted at what he thought was an innocent email.  I furthered his education with a liberal lubrication of the brewer’s art.

Zorba Demolition Operations

The Maine Musquetera’s acknowledged tardiness problem manifested in an entire day later arrival at our house from their dreaded trip to drop off their daughter at college for the first time.  In the Silver Lining Department they arrived just in time to join us for our weekly demolition of a Zorba’s giant pizza along with attendant liquid refreshment.  Since we were still feeling celebratory we paid homage to the BFA by hitting the ice cream bar on our way home. A very fun night with old and cherished friends.

Two of the Three Musqueteras Together Again

We didn’t wake them this morning when we snuck out of the house to fulfill a secret plan conjured up by the BFA’s parents.  They were picking up my son and the BFA in Boston as they returned from their Hawaiian honeymoon.  They asked if we would come up for breakfast and surprise the returning couple.  A great plan except the BFA’s mother insisted we bring Buddy along to greet his favorite human.  I’m not sure Buddy is even capable of the necessary civil behavior but we will see.

My Wife's Shoes and her Haul From Blueberry Picking Yesterday
Something that was on the Dance Card for the PanaGals
But Was of course Preempted by Shopping
They Think Blueberries are Exotic

Rapping With Given Politicians

Following my night of adventures with Louie I faced the monthly board meeting yesterday.  For the first time since I’ve worked here none of the Voices of Inappropriate Worth showed up to the meeting which is open to the public.  I thought I’d finally caught a break until inundated by one of the board members in the midst of a campaign to be a state senator.  He chose to speak repeatedly and pointlessly to demonstrate his gravitas and connection to “the people”.  He felt the need to pontificate on even the most mundane agenda items contributing nothing other than demonstrating his complete lack of knowledge on the subject.  It got so bad I was tempted to make a point of order and state that there were neither eligible voters from his district nor any reporters present.  Wiser heads prevailed and he was allowed to steal additional oxygen until even his fellow politicians got restless.

I finished Vince Flynn’s The Third Option yesterday which commences my odyssey through the remaining books in the Mitch Rapp series.  This is the fourth book in the series but this is the second one he wrote.  It was interesting since I started reading the series with books from when he was a much more polished author.  Mitch Rapp is still a very compelling hero and here is set up on what is supposed to be his final assassination mission by a group of self-serving Washington politicians (I know, kind of redundant).

Mitch emerges successful while also wooing his reporter girlfriend around her own kidnapping.  Flynn is transitioning Rapp out of his lone wolf personae and he’s required to play nice with others for the first time.  It’s interesting when an author takes chances like that with a successful literary hero.  I’m really going to enjoy the next few weeks as I read all too quickly the remaining books in the series.

Since the Maine Musquetera lived up to her reputation for timeliness again yesterday, my wife and I were free to take in another movie.  She was supposed to leave the Pennsylvania college after she dropped off her daughter for the first time yesterday morning and spend the night with us.  We got a call around dinner time that she hadn’t left campus yet.  The first one’s always tough.

Thus freed up the wife and I went to see The Giver since it had Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep (well and it was sci fi).  This is one of those movies that just miss.  It was kind of like Pleasantville meets Logan’s Run.  The hero is a young guy in a future where all emotions have been eradicated in a perfectly managed world.  Due to daily drug doses the pliable society sees everything is black and white. This was a perfect role for Katie Holmes who wasn’t required to show any emotion.  Unacceptable babies and the old are culled from the population.

The hero links up with Jeff Bridges, pining because he lost Taylor Swift a few years ago, who inserts some color into his life and hijinks ensue.   Streep consumes her normal amount of scenery as the evil, but very polite head elder.  The moviemakers took a pretty interesting concept and dulled it down to the point it was literally hard to stay awake.  A clear miss.

Hormonal Rat Invasion and Canadian Wisdom

Gone But Not Forgotten - I'm Surrounded my PanaGals at My Son's Wedding

I wrote yesterday about my wife importing people to fill the void left by the recently departed PanaGals.  Last night the daughter of the Virginia Musquetera showed up along with her little “dog” Louie.  She was traveling north to a weekend wedding in Maine.  It was so good to catch up with her and a little disconcerting to be presented again with the child of a friend who’s grown into an amazing adult.  Time can be so cruel.

Another Shot from Last Week in NYC

I call Louie a “dog” because I usually classify creatures his size who try to masquerade as canines as “rats with a hormone problem”.  They generally bark and make a general nuisance of themselves instead of the loftier pursuits of larger dogs.  I’m going to grant a dispensation for little Louie though.  He and Buddy immediately took to charging around the yard and later the house in very canine like behavior. 

Louie even established a beachhead next to me at Couch Potato position #1 which led to a very entertaining king of the hill match with the Wonder Pooch.  I had to stay on my virtual toes all night as Louie and Buddy would charge around the house and Louie would streak into the room and launch himself to land directly in my lap with Buddy close behind.  I found myself buried under a mountain of dogs a couple times.  I couldn’t have been happier although I did learn to protect myself.  I don’t think there any progeny in my future but I still like to maintain the equipment in serviceable condition.

Buddy and Louie Last Night

I’m now getting over a hundred readers a day for this blog which tells me one thing – there are a lot of bored people out there.  I specifically don’t reveal any names in the hope of maintaining some anonymity and personal space.  I do have a series of recurring characters whom I’ve assigned blog nom de guerres to.  Several people have contacted me asked what a MEF is or who is Wing Man.  I’ve taken a broad step (for me) without assistance of my technical advisor daughter to include a listing at the bottom of the blog of all the recurring characters. 

Bike Taken Apart

While waiting for the arrival of Louie and his mistress I tried my hand at repairing my trusty stationary bicycle.  I’m not blessed with any kind of mechanical talent other than curiosity and that has led to some entertaining and sometimes epic failures.  I was buoyed by some weekend success repairing the front doorbell (duct tape use # 4,678).  While doing my morning ride yesterday and reading there was a series of gear gnashing and noise emanating from the enclosed lower portion.  I eventually figured out how to remove the housing which turned out to be the toughest part of the job (well that and putting it back together correctly).  When revealed the problem was the chain had fallen off the gears – a repair I’ve been making since elementary school.  There was a mysterious set of small ball bearings rolling around everywhere though.  Since it was working again I’m not going to sweat the ball bearings; never ask a question you don’t want to hear the answer to.

And Reassembled

One of my military buddies sent me the below top ten list which is pretty amusing.  Most of the Canadians (except for their hockey team) I’ve met are pretty cool and this an amusing look from the outside at some of our foibles.  It has the added benefit of assisting in my never ending effort to get the Cantankerous Friend’s head to explode:

This is Canada's Top Ten List of America's Stupidity.   Of course we look like idiots .....because we are.

Number 10: Only in America could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 per plate Obama campaign fund-raising event.

Number 9: Only in America ...could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a  black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans - 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!

Number 8: Only in America...could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.

Number 7: Only in America...can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

Number 6: Only in America...would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically'  become American citizens (probably should be number one).

Number 5: Only in America....could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as EXTREMIST'S.

Number 4: Only in America...could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.

Number 3: Only in America...could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. Oil company(Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

Number 2: Only in America... could you collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

And Number 1: Only in America...could the rich people- who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

Wife and I in Central Park Last Week