Space Cars and Ice

As a child of the sixties I grew up surrounded by the space race with the Soviets where the American astronauts were lionized as true heroes. I’ve always loved science fiction and hoped the remarkable technological advances we’ve achieved over the past few decades would result in more emphasis on space exploration. That’s been hampered over those same decades by a lack of visionary leadership throughout the different administrations that have graced 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I was therefore excited a few years ago when I started hearing rumblings about private companies taking up the dream of space exploration.

Those hopes blossomed yesterday when I saw a red sports car with a mannequin driver orbiting the earth before heading out on a flight to Mars. Elon Musk deserves all the credit in the world for deciding to send his car into orbit instead of the usual blocks of concrete for a test flight because it offered the stunning visuals but it also tamped into the very human desire to learn what’s out there. The human race is defined by the need to explore and those thwarted tendencies seem to be breaking free of governmental inertia. It may seem cheesy to some but I loved it.

I did not love the weather yesterday with a few inches of snow followed by eight hours of freezing rain. There may be less pleasant tasks than shoveling snow in the midst of a freezing rainfall but I shudder to think what they might be. It was a rush to get the snow moved before the rain made it too heavy to use the snow blower. It was a near thing. Temperatures plummeted overnight and this morning everything was flash frozen. Thank God I no longer have the driveway from hell to contend with. It’s kind of eerie because looking back at Frail Deeds from exactly one year ago – we had the same type of storm on February 8 last year. There must be something special about this day.

Bouncing Back

The FBR checked in last night still fighting the good fight against the cold. She proudly proclaimed her accomplishments in the next step of toilet training. I hope when she reads this in a couple decades she’ll still share the same pride. Both of her grandparents gave her a rousing ovation last night. She was so pleased that she demanded her mother get us back on FaceTime the next time she mounted the throne. Again, in twenty years this will be something to laugh about. Wingman reports she’s feeling a little better today.

Waiting Game

The Mom in Waiting

I decided to spare your sensibilities yesterday by refusing to write on Frail Deeds. It had nothing to do with the anticipated funk over the Patriots losing in the Super Bowl, although that might have had something to do with it. The entire family is on pins and needles waiting for the call from eastern New Hampshire that the ABFA is headed towards the delivery room. We are all very excited about the arrival of the BRS and while the first 8.9 months seemed to fly by (for everyone except the ABFA) this week is crawling. The designated delivery date is Sunday but I’ve never ascribed to the accuracy of that prediction which seems more like soothsaying than science.

Imminent Super Parents to Be

We spoke with the parents-to-be on Monday night and their entire household, with the notable exception of Riggins, seemed primed for the event. My Favorite Son, displaying his usual heart of pristine gold, baked cookies and brownies for the ABFA to consume over the final week. It’s how he rolls. The weather looks clear with the dynamic exception of today where a really nasty winter storm blows into the region. Luckily the hospital is just a couple miles down the road from their house. I’m so excited for these two to become parents with the added benefit of my own acquisition of another grandchild. Grandparenting is the absolute best!

The FBR Gamely Fighting her Cold in a Steam Bath

Moving on to grandchildren that have already arrived on the scene we finally connected with the FBR last night and found her fighting a tough cold. She’s not one to let anything like that slow her down although she was climbing all over her mother who was playing the refuge center. After a brief rest she told her mother that she couldn’t finish dinner because she had to go bounce on her trampoline. I was rummaging around the kitchen about fifteen minutes after our call when the IPad rang again and I found myself looking at the FBR. I could hear Wingman in the background explaining she had seized control of their IPad and decided to call us back. You can imagine the pride I took in that decision but these feelings were dashed when she got up and walked away, refusing to talk. She was more interested in the act of calling then actually conversing. It still felt sneaky cool.

My Wife Was Very Excited to Receive a Bouquet of Thank You Flowers
From the ABFA and Favorite Son 

Speaking of cool, I tried to throw my hat into the home decorating ring yesterday with predictable results. My wife has decided to put something new over the fireplace in the living room. In a move that took immense courage on my part I suggested we put the huge framed keepsake of flags I was presented when I left battalion command. Nearly every former military member has what is called an “I love me wall” where all the many mementoes handed out at the end of various assignments are hung. Over the years my wall has migrated from center stage to mostly the basement and any office I occupy.

I Thought This Would Look Great in the Living Room
Which is Why These Decisions are not Left up to Me

This particular memento features a replica of the battalion colors surrounded by the flags from each of the subordinate companies along with a small plaque thanking me for my service as commander. It’s hung in a place of honor in every office I’ve occupied since I received it. Unsurprisingly I received a look of utter scorn from the decorator in chief which only spurred me to a long soliloquy on the historical significance in family history of the artifact (both of my children are rolling their eyes while reading that having suffered through similar speeches throughout their life). In truth I was having a lot of fun as my wife started to take me half seriously and her indignation rose concomitantly. I have a more realistic chance of winning an Olympic gold medal over the next couple weeks than convincing her to follow my decorating advice. It was great to finally have a date for date night last night. We took in The Shape of Water which I’d already seen but truly enjoyed the second time through but that could have been because of the company I was keeping.

Joyless But Not Really

Needless to say there is no joy in Patriots’ Nation today as the Pats lost a tough Super Bowl game last night. This one does not hurt as bad as some of the others though because the Patriots didn’t lose it as much as the Eagles won it. The Eagles were clearly the better team and despite a truly heroic effort from Brady the Patriots couldn’t overcome their lack of defense. I’m still puzzled by the Malcolm Butler benching at a time when they needed some drastic help in the pass defense. He must have truly pushed one of the nuclear option buttons with Herr Belichick. Even after Brady led them to a 4^th quarter comeback and a lead I had zero confidence the defense would hold up and it didn’t. So congratulations to Philadelphia because that team truly earned this one. I still couldn’t sleep last night.

The FBR was Ready

It was good to have the Favorite Panamanian at my side for the game although she did take umbrage when I refused to join her for some on line shopping in the middle of the game. She hasn’t made the transition to true football fan yet. The Mafioso’s husband and son came over for most of the putrid first half but decided they needed to change the Patriots’ fortunes by returning home. My wife also donned her cursed Brady jersey in the hopes of doing that. It almost worked.

In the end – it’s just a football game. The sun did come up this morning, if a little begrudgingly and there were a lot of free lanes at the pool this morning as the region operates out of a deep funk. There’s so much to be happy about in life. The FBR was in full football mode yesterday charging around the house in her Brady jersey. Thankfully the end of the game was after her bed time. All anticipatory efforts can now shift north to New Hampshire and the impending arrival of the BRS. The ABFA still seems serene despite approaching ground zero of the delivery date.

Congratulations!

The ABFA’s mom, one of the nicest people currently treading the earth, recently retired after 51 years at a Nashua, New Hampshire hospital. She’s a very humble lady who didn’t want to call attention to herself but luckily her co-workers properly recognized her in a going away ceremony which included an allusion to her looming grandmotherhood. The ABFA provided the accompanying photos and I’d like to add my best wishes to the long list of people congratulating this fabulous lady. It's all too easy to ascertain where the ABFA inherited her grace and compassion from.

ABFA Between her Parents at the Send Off Party

BRS on the Cake!

Culmination

I really can’t complain this year because the wait wasn’t nearly as long for my Favorite Panamanian to return from Panama. She cut short her tropical sojourn in order to be on the scene for the arrival of our next grandchild – the BRS. I was accompanied to the airport by the Mafioso’s husband since she was returning on the same flight. The flight was delayed a little bit but I was confident I would know when they landed because a millisecond later my wife would have her phone out of airplane mode to confirm the husbands’ dutiful presence for onward movement. It was therefore confusing when nothing came, even after the plane was announced as arrived.

I suggested that she must have run the battery completely down – certainly not out of the realm of plausible possibility. They finally emerged from the doors and I learned she had lost her phone but may have accidently packed it in her luggage. I admired her fortitude for surviving the entire day without her favorite apparatus, usually glued to her ear. Both husbands were smart enough to show up with a bouquet of roses and warm winter coats.

I was in the middle of paying for parking when we heard from the FBR who was extraordinarily pleased to see us on the same screen again. She loudly proclaimed, “They’re together!” Insert the appropriate “out of the mouths of babes” comment here. The FBR was out grocery shopping with her mother earlier yesterday when she spied a Patriots’ balloon (astounding given they were in New Jersey at the time) and demanded to have it. I’m glad to see her parents are bringing her up correctly despite being in close proximity to both the hated Jets and Giants. True grit, there.

We pulled off the Mass Pike on our drive home to grab dinner in one of my old Framingham haunts which reminded me how much I’d missed hanging out with the other couple, not to mention the sparkling eyed beauty I’m married to. We finally returned home where I passed at least the initial inspection and actually received a couple attaboys from the Inspector General. There was a definite sense of the world clicking back into place because as the FBR so eloquently stated – “They’re Together!” My wife also found her phone packed in her makeup kit.

Preparation Phase

Beach Time is Over Girls!
Wife and Mafioso on their Last Day at the Condo

I may have overestimated my housekeeping prowess as I find myself engrossed in the final hours of the preparation phase for my Favorite Panamanian’s return this evening. Who knew eating fried chicken could spread crumbs as widely as I’m finding? The key is to find them. As I write this she and her partner in crime for the last couple weeks, the Neighborhood Mafioso, are flying over the Caribbean. That should provide adequate crumb query time. The vacuum and I are bonding. I’m still amazed she keeps the house as clean as she does with seemingly half the effort I expend.

Love this Picture of Wingman and the FBR

Came in Color Also

Riding the Library Dragon

Very Focused

The fbr had a very busy day yesterday as she got to hang out with Wingman all day. This involved a trip to the library for story hour and folk music. Wingman provided a couple videos showing her dancing and singing. They also conducted a lightning raid on the local Whole Foods and barbecue place (somehow housed in the same place). By the time I caught up with them, just before the FBR’s bedtime, Wingman was exhausted while the FBR looked ready for another couple rounds.

Last Night - I Don't Know Why Dad is So Tired

First Friday turned out to be fairly low key as the only other attendee was my soon to depart Assistant General Manager. She was great company though as we reminisced about the past year and war gamed some of the upcoming challenges we both face. My streak of going to the movies ended last night because I’ve seen literally everything the movie theater has to offer except for Paddington Bear and I may be getting old but that’s not how a Friday evening should be spent.

The Mafioso Picking Oranges in my Sister in Law's Back Yard

Consternation

I’m faced with my annual task of preparing the house for the imminent return of the ultimate household authority. My Favorite Panamanian flies home tomorrow, an early return for this snow bird, necessitated by the equally imminent BRS. I’m in a semi-fugue state because I’m really not stressing that much. The plants are all mostly alive and as I wrote about recently, she’s ruined my chaotic housekeeping habits to the point the house really isn’t in bad shape. Somehow I’m disappointed in myself for this. My wife was out with the girls last night. She and the Neighborhood Mafioso met a group of my wife’s friends at my favorite David restaurant El Fogon. I’m sure sangria was involved.

This is What She's Flying Back Into

Re-emerging in the political debates, as promised, I continue to be dismayed by our president’s approach. He finally accomplished something with the tax plan (just saw my end of month pay – very cool) and I’m hearing his State of the Union was well received, bordering on “statesmanlike” (who saw that coming?). He follows this up with a decision to attack two pillars of his own executive branch – the FBI and the Justice Department. He seems incapable of controlling himself, letting his egomaniacal demons tweet himself back into a state of buffoonery. He’s on a slippery slope towards creating obstruction of justice where none may have existed. I think the term I’m looking for is - hubris.

I cannot let this contradictory behavior impact on a day a full week in the making – yes – the First Friday of the Week. As usual this momentous date will be met with appropriate remembrances of the week just passed lubricated with an equally appropriate measure of adult beverages. The fair ladies of Brew City will be instrumental in these ceremonies as will my co-workers who will be free to debate all the bad decisions their boss made this week. It has been interesting with nearly half of my managers either sick, departed, or departing. That’s actually made it a little more interesting. I’m kind of an idiot.

I saw the Movie Winchester last night which didn’t scare me as much as I thought it would. It would have been a complete disaster with the presence of Helen Mirren who plays Sarah Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. She’s building a huge mansion to house all the ghosts of victims of her company’s weapons. Who knew the gun control movement was founded in the spirit world? The rest of the cast were Australian and English actors struggling mightily with their American accents while Dame Helen glides through the film, completely dominant. There’s a neat little twist with one of the butlers but the rest of the story felt a little more mundane than it should have. The house ought to have been a contributing character, a la Hell House, but the film makers missed on that. It was just kind of there. I expected more of a scary ride than I got. The most interesting facet of the movie is that the house and Widow Winchester actually existed, not so sure about the ghosts.

Wife and the Gals Out Partying Last Night

Disinterest

I’ve never been active politically but I always felt it was my duty as a citizen to follow what our political leadership was up to. If I’m perfectly honest with myself I’ve failed miserably for the past few years. I didn’t even care or choose to watch the state of the union address by the Tweeter in Chief on Tuesday. It all isn’t about the Trumpster either. It seems the political machines on both ideological sides are so determined not to work together on the people’s business that to a certain extent I’ve lost hope and that’s just not right. 

Every single message that comes out of Washington seems to be so massaged and managed that I usually dismiss it out of hand. I owe it to the FBR and the imminent BRS to be more vigilant and engaged. If we, the mass of people in the center of the political spectrum, lose interest in our government then we are creating the ripe environment for tyranny from both ends of the political spectrum. That is precisely because the people who operate there, be they right wing or the radical progressives, are uniformly intolerant of other people’s views. We have to be better and that starts with me. I’ve got to be better.

The motivation for the thoughts above has started a workout program for her parents. When I caught up with them last night I witnessed what has become a nightly ritual for the FBR, my daughter, and Wingman. The FBR demands a Dora the Explorer song be played and as soon as she hears it she off and running. She runs laps around the first floor and requires her parents join her on the journey. She had my daughter put the IPad down and waved to me each time she passed by the screen. At a certain point in the Dora song the Hokie Pokie comes on which she and Wingman danced in the middle of their continuing jog. It was all too funny and had me rolling on floor laughing. She is quite the little dynamo.

Hanging With Dad and the Boys at the Diner This Morning

Needs Fuel for her Runs

I was back at the movies last night. I know. Huge surprise. I’ve now seen no less than 16 of the current movies playing at my local theater. That is due in no small part to the fact they’ve all been free due to the rewards card I’m convinced they messed up on. Mine is to question their largesse and a new parcel of movies arrives tonight. My movie going fortunes will change with this weekend’s return of my better half – the Favorite Panamanian. She’s much more entertaining than mere movies.

I saw Maze Runner: the Death Cure which brings an end to the fairly entertaining Maze Runner series. In this final installment the hero – Thomas, with his few remaining friends, are trying to rescue another of their friends from clutches of the evil corporation using him to find a cure for the zombie virus killing off most of the human population. There are some very credible action scenes and Dylan O'Brien carries the film effortlessly as Thomas. You really have to question his common sense and sense of self-preservation with some of the plot holes he confronted with but this isn’t Shakespeare. It’s good, old fashioned popcorn sci fi which is right in my wheel house. I continue to like everything Rosa Salazar is connected with and she stages a very interesting escape in a bus with just the right amount of tongue in cheek. I liked the film despite the idiotic tactics on both sides and at least this drives a stake into the heart of yet another wannabe Hunger Games film series.