Energized

I found some time to write today because I was supposed to be sitting in a dentist chair right now. I fought through some central Worcester traffic including a really inconvenient funeral (to me not to mention the dead guy) procession to arrive ten minutes early only to find the dentist office all locked up. Weird. I eventually got someone on the phone who said she screwed up due to a family emergency and that I could come back as long as I didn’t mind waiting for an hour or so while the doctor caught up. Pass.

I am now an official producer of energy as my solar system went on line yesterday. After doing this I can’t believe how easy and inexpensive it was. I’m glad I dodged earlier efforts to sell me solar systems and hooked up with the company that I did. The company’s founder saw what Chinese industry was doing to the atmosphere and it became her life motivation to start a solar company. The very cool thing is I didn’t have to pay for the system or its installation. I’ll let you know if the system meets the promised standard in electric bill relief but I feel very green today. My 10^th grade science teacher who sent us out on the very first Earth Day would be proud of me. Let me know if you’re interested in contact with this company, total aces.

FBR's Latest Fascination

Last night calls with the granddaughters caused the usual spike in delight. The FBR recently became a huge fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas (I’m thinking Wingman was involved in this) and now wears a newly acquired Jack Skellington costume for all her dinners. There was a very funny moment between my son and the BRS last night. There is a constant contest between the two of them concerning drawers that the BRS knows she’s not supposed to open. My Favorite Son always patiently blocks her efforts. Last night she engaged in a game of closing doors while we were video chatting. Unbeknownst to my son this was just a ploy. We saw her close the door between them and when my son opened the door the BRS was in a  dead sprint to the room with the drawers. He was laughing so hard he found it hard to catch up with her. This is lady with a plan.

Date night last evening so a trip to the cinema was efforted. We saw Black and Blue which is a very good action movie. It was clearly trying to tap into the gaping divide between African-Americans and the police force that is supposed to serve them. Despite the overuse of clichés in that arena the movie is watchable because of Naomi Harris (Miss Moneypenny herself) and Tyrese Gibson. Harris, successfully hiding her English accent, plays a rookie New Orleans cop who witnesses the execution of a drug dealer by a supposedly super cop, played with his usual diabolical glee by Frank Grillo. Harris is forced to hide out in her original neighborhood which is uniformly antagonistic precisely because of the uniform she’s wearing. Luke Cage is horribly miscast as a drug kingpin, just too decent a guy to make that work. The rest of the cast is spot on and the action is non-stop. I really enjoyed this film although they had a hard time bringing it home, wandering in full camp mode but still enjoyable.

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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