A New Affliction

Pandemic! It threatens everyone. Most don't even know it, nor do they realize that while it is universal and potentially fatal, its progress can be slowed to a crawl with relative ease. This affliction, funicle degeneration or fuddy duddy syndrome, is most commonly called AGE and it desires to have us all. It nearly got me. But for the brave actions of a little boy, I might be in its relentless clutches at this very moment. I'd love to say I escaped, but I was actually rescued. It went like this...

Several months ago, sometime between Christmas and April Fool's Day, my son Wyatt reminded me that the 4th of July was right around the corner and that we needed to be thinking about getting fireworks. I remember the days when fireworks were a celebratory expression of American Independence. Those sparks and whistles, those flames and pops. I couldn't get enough. But now, fireworks are a celebratory expression of watching my paycheck go up in smoke.

Now Wyatt is at the "fireworks are awesome" stage in life and made sure I was reminded of it at every opportuntity. His incindiary promptings continued unabated and he made supplications at regular intervals that I should procure some fireworks as quickly as possible in preparation for the huge backyard Fourth of July celebration. I, of course, made every conceivable excuse for not having done so, such as, "I'm sure they are all sold out." and "We just can't afford it right now." and the ever popular and minimally effective, "I think I broke my legs." None of those worked and I found myself being assaulted on a minute-by-minute basis by a young boy just wanting to have some fun. But, having a full blown case of FD made it easy to deny his requests. The kicker came when he finally gave up with, "OK!" and walked away from me with his knuckles dragging the floor like a little toe headed neaderthal. I just couldn't take it. I grabbed my keys and the checkbook and we headed to the store late in the afternoon of July 4, 2007 to see what we could find, hoping there was still something left on the shelf. Of course, Wyatt came with me. We entered the store and wouldn't you know it, there were stacks of fireworks, all laughing at me, waiting to set my savings ablaze. The grip of FD does not loosen easily. But after about .000009438 seconds, he had made his selection and we were headed for home. The entire 15 minute trip I was treated to a personal reading of every word on the box, a couple of times. At least twice I felt the sting of pure joy slamming into my neck from the back seat as he fizzled with anticipation. By the time we got home he was ready to ignite. I'm just glad he didn't explode in the car. Dinner was pure torture and we were all certain the sun was never going to set. But eventually it did and we retreated to the back yard for 12 minutes and $29.97 of flaming fun.

My FD is cured and, fortunately, my son is still intact.

The Big Launch

Samuel and Mason spent the last couple of weeks creating this little gem in preparation for their next "Sacking of York". Also of note, when launching GI Joe's, bad guys fly farther than good guys.

And The Winner Is...

With summer underway it's an all out battle to ensure that the kids are doing more than wathcing TV and turning into little turnips. So we had an idea. A contest. Everyone can do it and it will be fun. So we decided upon a photo contest. The rules were simple.

1. All entries must be digital and original
2. They must be taken in or around the house
3. Mom and Dad would judge based on Originality, Composition, Color, Contrast and a few other criteria
4. 3rd place gets a kick in the pants, 2nd places gets a pat on the back, 1st place gets $5.

So we gave them a few days and access to any digital camera in the house. Many photos were entered and here are the winners...

Honorable Mention (by Samuel)

We liked the way the picture was split in half by the zipline in the backyard. He had to balance the camera next to the tree and hope he got a good picture.

3rd Place (by Mason)

We liked the composition and color. Nicely done

2nd Place (by Samuel)

Good use of light

1st Place (by Mason)

This one just had fairly good everything...Texture, Composition, Perspective...Our dog.

The Power of Boredom

One of the best parts of my week is Saturday morning. I like it because it usually offers the time tested staples of a leisurely weekend such as a big family breakfast, hot coffee brewing when I stumble out of my room, and a little personal time for everyone. However, Saturday morning usually starts on Friday evening so things can get a bit complicated in an effort to simplify.

It happens like this...on Friday evening everyone slowly makes their way into bed and the parents of the house head up to say evening prayers. Friday evening prayers are different because they ALWAYS end with a fatherly admonition that the child praying should include a prayer for a spirit of quietness the following morning to let the paternal unit sleep in lest his ire be raised to just below the ceiling followed by the child in question loosing a finger or other appendage. So Saturday mornings are usually quiet. But as every parent knows, quiet can mean trouble.

So it was that this morning, all was quiet. The sun was up, the air was cool and breakfast was finished. Given the beauty of this particular Georgia morning, I sent everyone outside for some fresh air and solid play. The first indication of trouble came when Samuel showed up in the kitchen and just kind of stood around looking sheepish. I queried, "Why aren't you outside?" His reply was unexpected, but not surprising. "I don't what to get in trouble when Mason and Wyatt get hurt." "Why would they get hurt?" "They're on the roof!", he said, not wanting to tell on them but not wanting to lie either.

A while later, after a little more too much quiet, I heard a loud conversation taking place in the garage and stole slowly to the door to ascertain what was being said. That's when I discovered that my children were being forced to take their imaginations to new heights to think up something to do since there was no TV, Playstation, or Computer actually operating in the back yard.

My discovery of their level of boredom came in the form of a sentence from Mason as each threw their ideas for fun into the proverbial hat. He said, "Let's practice scewdriver throwing!"