Tag Archives: Thoughts

My Lucky Cricket

Nature, Technology,

I woke up this morning and the crickets were absolutely marvelous. There must have been a couple dozen of them, all chirping their own way. Their sounds were different and sort of surrounded me as I stepped outside.

Audio

(click to hear my crickets)

One of my favorite Disney movies is Mulan. I’ll leave you to find the details if you haven’t seen it. Anyhow, Mulan’s grandmother gives her a lucky cricket. The poor cricket goes through all sorts of things with Mulan and her “guardian dragon”. When things are at their worst, they all have a time of confession at which point the cricket admits he’s not really lucky. But really, they had gotten lucky over and over as the story progressed.

I was a bit of a pre-caffeine philosopher this morning, but it occurred to me, as I listened to the crickets, just how lucky I am. I have a great family, good health, incredible good looks, a good job, nice house, etc. I couldn’t really ask for more. I suppose I must be surrounded by lucky crickets…

Brace Yourself

Adventure, Thoughts,

A few months ago, I went to the orthodontist to determine just how crooked my teeth are.  Sure enough…crooked.  I need braces if I intend to ever have straight teeth.  I figure I need straight teeth in order to get on Survivor which will virtually guarantee me a place on Dancing with the Stars.  When Katie Holmes watches with Tom, she’ll see me and call right away begging me to sing and dance with her on Broadway (Tom’s no good for you Katie!).  Of course, Lady Gaga will be dazzled in her seat in the theater and will ask me backstage to sing with her on the next album.  I know Brand and Angelina are hip so they certainly listen to Lady Gaga and we’ll do lunch, talk about the kids and our next new blockbuster together.  After that, I am sure that I will be a shoe-in for the White House and maybe even global rule. You see, I have it all planned out if not for these dang crooked teeth.

(I have to chew on that green thing 2x a day to force the aligners over my teeth)

I also have an ulterior motive.  Emily told me she always wanted to kiss a boy with braces when she was growing up.  I got Invisalign aligners so it’s not like real braces, but I figure I may get some mileage.  Invisalign aligners are a series of plastic molds shaped such that each transition between aligner sets moves my teeth toward their final destination.  I stay in each set of aligners for 2 weeks or so and they slowly force my teeth into position from the tension the plastic exerts on the teeth.

(that cost how much?!)

I say the aligners work slowly but when I put my first set in yesterday, it sort of felt like my teeth snapped into their slightly adjusted place (and not in an exactly pleasant way).  Even more scary was when I removed them to brush.  My head clattered as they snapped back into their old positions!

(Most of those chips are from my brother!)

Really, it takes some getting used to I guess, but they aren’t too bad.  I figure they can’t possibly be worse than metal/ceramic braces and these surely look a lot better.  I have to wear the aligners for 22 hours a day, taking them out only to eat and brush.  I can’t eat or drink with them in place so I suppose I will really cut back on my beloved Mt Dew since it isn’t worth jerking these things in and out of my head and brushing every time I want a sip.

So, I guess a year from now I will be healthier without all of the sugar and my teeth will be straighter and I’ll be even prettier (somehow…hard to imagine I know).  Lady Gaga here I come!

EDIT:  The end result!

Speaking of Dig…

Family, Thoughts,

(I am the luckiest guy alive!)

I really dig my wife.  Today is our 15 year anniversary.  I like to look back at the old pictures of our wedding day and remember what it was like to weigh 150 pounds (I was a skinny thing) and have hair, and look young.  Sometimes I like to look back at pictures and reminisce, but really, I prefer our life right now.  We’ve had our ups and downs, but we count many more ups in our favor.  We’re mature in our relationship and especially lately, we’ve grown closer than we ever have been before.  So today, on our 15th anniversary, I’d like to say I love my wife so very much and I would indeed marry her all over again!

He hugged me

Family, Thoughts,

My son is very much like me…we don’t do people.  I mean, I would rather do 1,000,000 deep knee bends than hug a person.  Some folks I know are huggers…they want to greet me in the morning with a hug.  I always respond, “I don’t hug my wife and kids, I d@#n sure am not going to hug you!”  Usually that calls off the attack.  I don’t like to shake hands or even bump into someone else.  I am not sure what my parents did to me as a child but it’s how I am.

Now honestly, I do hug my wife and kids (and I enjoy that) and I will shake hands in a pinch or where social norms demand it, but I am not a free-toucher.  Isaac is just like me…except he barely hugs us either.

So, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything.  You may remember, this week I am going on about simple pleasures.  Uh…ok…so what’s my point?  Well, last night Isaac willingly hugged me and kissed me on the cheek!  I’ll say it again, Isaac hugged me and kissed my cheek…without coercion!


My boy loves to read and he reads at a high school level in 3rd 4th grade.  He just finished the Star Wars book that parallels the third Star Wars movie (the one where Darth Vader is made).  Until now, we have not let the kids see that movie.  I don’t know that it is all that bad really, but so many parents around us have banned their kids from seeing it.  I guess we decided to follow their lead.  Anyhow, since he finished the book, I decided to let him watch the movie.  We’ve been trying to work out a time to see it and finally last night was the night to start the show.  When he got the news, he was so excited that he gave me  a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek!  That one thing, truly, made my week!  I am a little less tired because of it!

Babies having babies

Thoughts


Spring is such a cool time.  I have been looking for simple things that sort of calm the spirit and this spring has brought us babies…we are overrun with stray cats.  Two mother cats have had kittens this year (so far) so we now have 8-9 more cats added to the zoo.  They can be a nuisance I suppose but kittens bouncing around and tumbling with each other is pure and simple joy for me.

But Momma cat is pretty young herself.  She’s still a baby really.  Didn’t her mother teach her any better?  Sheesh, what is the world coming to?  Well, she did make cute babies though they and the mother are completely wild.

Family of deer

Last year we got to see a new born fawn amble down through the yard.  It happened similarly again this year.  Yesterday, I saw a new fawn and its mother in the yard.  This one was not as new as last year’s fawn but it was tiny….more babies around my house and I smiled again.  I love spring and baby animals and green grass and puffy clouds…

How’s your zoo looking this year?

I’m not dead yet

Fun, Thoughts,

I wanted to take one of those pictures like American Beauty…you know, with the half naked girl all covered in rose petals. But instead of that, it would be me covered in books about the undead. But then I got creeped out and decided to skip that part.

I mentioned yesterday that I was tired and was going to begin my quest for things that make me un-tired. It’s funny, but the undead make me un-tired…at least reading about them make me un-tired. We started reading the Twilight series of books. The Twilight books are about a family of vampires that “go vegetarian” and try to somewhat live in society. You really should read it for yourself (or, if you aren’t a reader, see the movie).

After posting about my interest in the Twilight books, Erica mentioned the Sookie Stackhouse series…a more adult vampire series.  Really, the books aren’t adult in an “adult” way but are probably less appealing to teenage girls than the Twilight books.  Anyhow, I am now reading them as well. The HBO series TrueBlood is based on the Sookie Stackhouse series…it is more adult in an “adult” way. Not too bad, just HBO-style! Anyhow, we’re getting them on Netflix…

So, reading is one of those things that makes me un-tired.  I get a chance to slow down and get lost in someone else’s world.  The best part is that it’s partly my world too. That’s why I like book so much I suppose.  A movie presents it all to the viewer and leaves little to the viewer’s imagination.  A book sets a scene but leaves so much for the reader to imagine.  It’s a wonderful escape for me!

Since we’re speaking of the dead and the undead, I got to thinking about Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie…you gotta watch this clip….”I’m not dead yet”…it cracks me up every time!

So what about it…are you reading the Twilight or  Sookie Stackhouse books?  What other summer books are on your “list”?

Happy Mother’s Day…I’m early

History, Thoughts,

I am feeling really great about Mother’s Day. I am 355 days early and here I am already wishing my Mom a Happy Mother’s day! I mean, how many mothers could ask for a better son?!

I thought it might be fun to show some old pics of my mom and tell a few stories…

My Mom grew up above a gas station that my grandparents owned in the same town in which I grew up. She knows everyone in town and has for a long time. She graduated from the local high school (one of two in the county) a really really long time ago.

After school, she went off to school, married my Dad, moved to Washington, DC, birthed me and moved back to Tionesta. I am sure I am glossing over a few details there but the part where she had me was the important part anyhow.

So, Mom and Dad moved back to a small town to raise me and so I was raised. We lived close to all sorts of family, some of whom we even liked! I am very thankful to have been raised “back home” and by the parents who claim to have made me (though sometimes I wonder).

It’s funny how growing up makes a person appreciate their parents more.  I am sure you have all noticed the same thing. Anyhow, I think one of my favorite adult experiences with my Mom was in 2005 when we went to the beach as a family for the first time.  In all her many, many years, my Mom had never seen the ocean. We happened to arrive together and my Mom sprinted for the shore and jumped right in, clothes and all! It was glorious!

Anyhow, Thanks Mom and Dad for having me and for getting so much smarter as you’ve aged. Happy Mother’s day…early!

Race car bed

Family, Thoughts,


Several years ago when we still lived in TN, I built a race car bed for Isaac. It took me many nights to do all of the cutting and shaping. I inhaled at least one lung-full of dust, even through the mask I wore. No doubt, the house still had sawdust in it when we sold it to the next people.

Anyhow, I worked and worked to build Isaac a race car bed that he would love and enjoy sleeping in. It weighs just short of one ton and we moved it from TN to the top floor of our house here in WV. It seems, though, that its time is done. We have extra beds in the guest room and he has expressed an interest in one of those. The race car bed has run its race and is headed to the big garage in the sky.

Before we bid it adieu, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of it and to talk about growing up. Isaac is nine and a half and starting to shed so much of his little-kid-ness. We bought him new shoes last night and he now wears a men’s size 9. I wear a 9.5-10 so we can almost share shoes (though fear not, we are males and will not share shoes!) He comes to my shoulder and reads books from the teen area of the book store. He gets my jokes now and Emily and I can no longer safely use sarcasm to communicate with each other. He is starting to close the door when he goes into the bathroom (though not always) and he is tired of his race car bed.

So, this weekend, we’ll take down the race car and give him a more adult looking bed frame. I’ll try to give him a big hug as we work, but he won’t let me. Still, I’ll smile inside as my baby boy grows up just a little more.

Weekend Update

Fun, Thoughts,

Even though it rained a bunch leading up to this weekend, it seems like we got a bunch done and had a lot of fun this weekend.  Soccer games were cancelled this weekend.  We practiced on Thursday evening and it was a muddy mess.  Mosquitoes swarmed around us as we mucked through the swamp-field.  I am sure I will lose half my team to malaria or yellow fever or something.  Honestly, we would have been better off to play bare-foot so we could at least enjoy the mud squishing through our toes…sort of like playing in the cow pasture.  

Anyhow, games were cancelled so I went to the East End yard sale.  The East End of Charleston is a strange area of the city.  Most of the East End is filled with huge old homes that were probably pretty upscale 75 years ago.  Several streets remain that way, populated mostly by professionals and artists and such.  A few streets back from those however, a rougher element lives.  Anyhow, the East End had a yard sale this weekend and I suppose there were thousands of people in attendance…including me.  More on what I found in another post, but it was great buying other peoples’ junk!  I was able to get part of Emily’s Mother’s Day present at the yard sale!

We planted cushaw squash last year and have stored 4 in our kitchen since we harvested them last August.  They seemed to have kept perfectly, but we verified it this weekend.  Emily made more cushaw squash pie and it was delicious!  It was just as moist and perfect this weekend as it was when we first harvested it.  If you want a good keeper, definitely plant cushaw squash!

Last year we bought a reel mower.  We wanted something that would be environmentally friendly, cheap to operate and sort of fail-proof.  Sure enough, most of it is metal with little to break…that’s little to break, not nothing to break.  The only plastic on the thing is a set of arms that hold the cutting height adjustment (i.e. a roller that holds everything at the right angle/height).  It broke and rendered the mower useless.  Being one to over-engineer/over-build, I bought some angle-iron and built new roller arms.  They are now guaranteed not to break!  I also added a new steel axle so we should be good to mow!  Of course, with all of our rain, the grass was too thick to mow with it so I weed-whacked the entire yard which was such a delight!

Finally, Abigail lost her second tooth on Sunday and had a visit from the tooth fairy.  She had been holding out on pulling the tooth but she bit into a peanut butter sandwich and it hurt enough that she finally let me pull it…and without a fuss!  The tooth fairy again visited and performed her duty as per union rules for tooth-fairy local 107 here in Charleston, WV!

So, all-in-all, it was a great weekend and we had a lot of fun!  What did you get into this weekend?

Mr. Hilton

Fun, Thoughts,

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week.  We don’t celebrate this holiday with too many presents or special songs, but I think it is interesting to consider the role that some of my teachers played in my future.  I know that the teachers my kids have now (and ones they have had) are making a huge impact on their lives.  Both kids absolutely love their teachers this year and have learned so much under their watch.

I had a few wonderful teachers that shaped me, but probably my all time favorite teacher was Mr. Hilton.  We had some weird transitions and chaos as East Hickory Elementary merged with Tionesta Elementary, but I received a huge benefit as I had Mr. Hilton for both 4th and 5th grades.  He inspired my curiosity.  We did all sorts of interesting projects on physical and earth science.  I remember spending all sorts of time in the science room where there were closets and shelves and shelves full of formaldehyde-filled jars with creatures of every sort.  There were containers of chemicals and bottles of mysteries.  We didn’t recklessly play with stuff but were taught to investigate.  We learned about economics (he used a token system to reward behavior and hard work) and greed and power struggles and how hard work pays off.

Later on in high school, Mr. Hilton became Coach Hilton.  I played soccer in high school and he was my soccer coach.  We weren’t always the best team but he encouraged us to do our best and to have a lot of fun in the meantime.  

Finally, I worked closely with Mr. Hilton’s son and daughter at the bait/sporting goods/grocery/movie/ice cream/general store where we all worked.  His son and I, in particular, had a tremendous amount of fun and a little bit of trouble.  I deer hunted with he and his family and came to enjoy his company apart from school as well.  It’s not common to have a teacher who can also be a friend as well as a mentor, but Mr. Hilton accomplished much of that for me.

So, here’s to you Mr Hilton!  Thanks for being a great teacher!  I still appreciate your hard work!

Ok…I have to stop or he may get a big head if he reads this.  But I do sincerely hope that you had an awesome teacher somewhere in your growing up that inspired you.  If you can, let them know.  I am sure they will appreciate it!

 And now, our next candidate for teacher of the century…