It’s been my thing to take Beth to school on the first day of school. It’s been an obsession really. I figure if I’m going to make my kid go to school, the least I can do is take them on the first day, to ease some of the pain. Only today I may have been more pain than relief. Sure, we went out for breakfast at Starbucks. Sure, we went for a walk around the still closed mall.
I’m tired and it’s getting late, so I’ll dispense with the research and get on with the entry. I seem to recall a study where mice are given the choice of food or an addictive drug. (Try and try as I might, I can’t find it via Google.) As I recall, the mice choose the drug over food until one of two things happen: 1) the mice die, or 2) the mice run out of drug. I have the…
I am here, back in my domain. The home field advantage is once again mine. My first blush impression of the vacation past, and of South Carolina in general, is that it was a lot like home. As it turns out, South Carolina is in a part of the country known as the “south.” As such, its climate in late July is best described as “hot, damn hot, and wet.” As it happens, the same…
After a stopover in Savannah the previous night, we made it into Myrtle Beach the following afternoon. We stopped in on our room to lecture Beth on the finer points of empathy, consideration, and not using your feet to push off on the side of the car to gain leverage against your father in obtaining more of the space in the back seat. From there we went to Planet Hollywood. Yes, they have one here…
The only channel playing the Gold Cup match between the US men’s National Team and Jamaica was Telefutura, the local Spanish language channel. Man! I couldn’t help but get excited. I didn’t have a clue what they’re saying, until,
GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!
I didn’t even start counting…
Here’s some learnin’ free of charge. Baby + Suntan Lotion + Water = another battle lost to gravity.
Now before you panic, no one was hurt in this story.
I was sitting in the shade at Beth’s 2005 birthday party (version 2) watching my wife and youngest child at the pool from afar. Cheryl was conversing with a friend when she surprised everyone (including herself, but most of all…
Beth’s birthday was a success. I just wish she liked the $200 bike as much as the $20 lamp. I thought it was going to be a mistake to give her the biggest gift first, but it all worked out in the end. The bike came first, with a moderate amount of joy, and the lamp came last, accompanied by an explosion of eight year old birthday glee.
When you get right down to it, it’s pretty…
I’m not supposed to discuss the policies and procedures of my office, so I’m not going to. So, for example, I’m not going to tell you which major, northeastern Florida City I was working in today. I’m not going to tell you the name of the person from this city that I spoke to; nor am I going to tell you what he does or the professional association that he’s required…
I spent a little time in the gift shop and spent a little money on a pink stuffed toy for Beth. On my way back up to my room I was asked if I was here to get away from the storms. I had no idea what the woman was talking about, and without speaking a single word communicated this most effectively. In answer to my unvoiced question, this interloper in my period of self-pity advised me that a lot of…