Threenaging

Attitude with Wingman

We finally caught up with that extremely moving target, the FBR, last night. Her parents recently began describing her as a “threenager” due to some of her antics – mostly in the rebellious category. We caught brief glimpses of her last night as she motored around the house. She stopped by for a brief conversation but headed for the wilds upon a parental request to speak with us, because you know, being ordered to do something is akin to torture in a threenage world. Before she departed she regaled us with anecdotes from her day which included a trip to the library and the subsequent acquisition of a beach ball. I asked her about her weekend trip to the beach but was quickly corrected that it was a lake, not the beach. She then set off in more entertaining directions while we tried to have a conversation with her parents. She’s still a huge charmer.

She is Getting so Big!

Her cousin, the BRS is charming her other set of grandparents somewhere in Maine as the New Hampshire bunch is up there for a few days after the ABFA convinced my Favorite Son that Western Civilization would not fall if he took a couple days off. My wife and I were at the cinema last night hanging out with old friend, Secret Service agent Mike Banning. Angel has Fallen features Agent Mike Banning back in action after surviving the falls of Olympus and London. He’s obviously much worse for the wear after the multiple explosions and gunshot wounds suffered in the first two movies. This was formulaic and everything I expected which was a welcome escape from reality. Banning is framed for the spectacular assassination attempt on President Morgan Freeman and pursued across West Virginia by horribly miscast FBI agent Jada Pinkett Smith. I caught her smirking a couple of times at the gaping plot holes she was charged with selling – like instant DNA testing amongst other issues used to keep the plot moving. Nick Nolte is superb as Banning’s long lost father living a hermit’s existence but he’s only on the screen for a little bit. As noted above Gerard Butler is a too removed from his Leonidas days to truly sell everything he has to do in this movie. He was totally believable in the first two but time seems to finally be catching up with him. That doesn’t distract too much from the action packed movie with bodies strewn up and down the east coast, again, it’s pure escapism – a summer popcorn movie at its best.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues