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| BRS Photos at Last |
I know I live in New England, with
about as mercurial a weather pattern ever conceived, but this week added some
new chapters to that reputation. Sunday morning I was out in the driveway
moving six inches of freshly fallen snow. Yesterday, a mere two days later we
were literally in t-shirt weather with temperatures in the 70s. Every speck of
snow, with the exceptions of some really stubborn (and large) snow piles, has disappeared.
I hadn’t paid much attention when I set out in the morning with my usual
overcoat. I spent the entire day inside and was busy enough not to notice the disappearing
snow outside my windows. It was kind of jarring when I got out of the car and
felt completely silly to have the coat on. I know this is just a tease though
as the New England winter is not done with us. Temperatures are soaring again
today but I did pay attention this morning and we’re scheduled for an ice storm
tomorrow. There and I was just about to buy into this whole global warming
rumor.
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| The Other Grandparents on Station |
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| Riggins wants to Help Grandma |
I’ve been experiencing some serious garage
door opener issues over the past couple months. Once it got colder the door
would stop halfway up and after several more stop and starts would eventually acquiesce
to go all the way up. I have the mechanical ability of a semi-educated caveman
but I decided to give it a try on Monday. It seemed to freeze at the same spot
each time but there was nothing remarkable about that location on the track. I
felt a bit stymied until I launched a frontal attack with WD-40 into the underside
of the track and low and behold it worked! There was an old saying in the Army,
“You only need two things in life: Duct Tape and WD-40. If it moves and
shouldn’t, use Duct Tape, if it doesn’t move and should, use WD-40.” I defy you
to visit the home of a retired infantryman and not find both products on hand.
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| Traveling Mode |
Monday also marked a very enjoyable
dinner date. Keene Friend was in town to knock out some of the final pre-employment
requirements before starting work with me next week. He insisted (not that it
was much of a fight) to take my Favorite Panamanian and I out to dinner. We
tried to go to Val’s in Holden but for what I think is the third time we discovered
they are closed on Monday (at some point we’ll remember). We scooted back into
Worcester for a very fun dinner at the neighborhood 99. I’m really looking
forward to having Keene Friend on board at work. I may even push retirement off
if it turns out to be as much fun as I think it will be.
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| FBR on the Move |
Those of you who know Wingman should
reach out to him as he is dealing with some tough family news out in Missouri.
His mother’s husband lost a long fight with cancer yesterday. Wingman is frustrated
at his geographic distance from his mom and trying to work out a way to help
her out. He told us last night that the FBR sensed his mood and was trying to
cheer him up. Please extend some prayers in his family’s direction as they deal
with this tough situation. Wingman is trying to get out there as quickly as possible;
I know it’s eating him up.
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| With her Posse |
My Favorite Son returned to work yesterday
for the first time since acquiring the BRS. He looked a little haggard when we
reached him last night as he is learning to deal with the diminished sleep
cycle a newborn engenders. The ABFA, in typical ABFA fashion, is bouncing back nicely.
She got behind the wheel of the car for the first time since giving birth yesterday
as she squired the BRS around for their next series of appointments. The ABFA’s
mom is on hand for grandmother support operations. My son also finally started sending
me some photos of the BRS. I was concerned the BRS would read this blog after I’m
gone (hopefully well down the road) and find it a little too FBR-centric.
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| Someone at least is Getting Some Sleep |
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| Bit not Always |
Date night had the wife and I out to
see the movie everybody is talking about, Black Panther. It is one of those
rare films that exceeds deafening word of mouth hype. It’s clearly one of the best
Marvel films ever which is rarified air for a dedicated geek like me to assign
it to. It is well plotted, fabulously acted, and perfectly paced. The cast is
the real strength of the movie but not because of the title character. While he
is very good, Boseman is probably the fifth or sixth best actor in this movie. The
women and Michael B. Jordan dominate! Lupita Nyong'o and especially Danai
Gurira were mesmerizing in their roles as key players for the Black Panther.
Jordan’s screen presence as the villain is undeniable and he almost gets you
rooting for him despite constantly showing you why you shouldn’t; just charisma
to spare. The movie takes on a lot of social issues without beating you about
the head and shoulders. There’s also a lot of subtle humor, most of it at the
Black Panther’s expense. It’s obvious Bosemen wasn’t a prima dona and uniformly
gracious in sharing he screen with this fantastic cast. This is a superhero
movie with a soul. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. There
was a huge crowd there for a Tuesday night showing mostly African-American
which I would definitely recommend as a viewing environment. It was a party as young
kids, up well after their bedtimes, devoured this new hero. While everyone
wants to make this a socially conscious event it is still a damned fine movie.
It says way too much about our movie history of inclusion that it is greeted as
such an event in the first place.
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