I’ll Do That, Son

Yesterday I took an extra moment to properly time my necessary walking between my son and the television screen while my son was playing a game.

“Why do you try to be so careful about not blocking my view?” he asked me.

Chuckling, I answered, “Well . . . it’s because it used to seem like my mom was always blocking my view when I was really interested in something, and I remember how much I hated that, so whenever I can, I try not to do that to you.”

“Oh,” my son replied, then after a  thoughtful pause he asked, “Is Grandmama still coming to visit this week?”

“Yes,” I told him.

“Can you please remind her that it’s rude to block people’s views?”

Holy Rest In Peace!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t note last week’s passing of Adam West.

Now I really need to watch Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.  (Normally I don’t give plugs to anyone, but I’m making an exception here because . . . Adam West.)

It Was A Completely Legal And Safe Turn, I Just Didn’t Have A Lot Of Time To Linger While Doing It

Today my son learned that when I’m driving and say “Hang on!”, I mean it!

Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away

Kay:  When you get sad, it always seems to rain.

Laura:  Well lots of people get sad when it rains.

Kay:  It rains because you’re sad, baby.

– Men in Black II

(On my mind because L’s Mother went out of town for a few days, and we literally did not see the sun here until after she got back.

I Now Have A New Standard For “Ironic”

What follows is a (heavily paraphrased to better capture background nuances) exchange between me and my son:

Him:  “Dad, do you want to do something together?”

Me (Knowing that it’s been raining for days and that he’s feeling cooped up):  “Sure!  What do you want to do?”

Him:  “It has to be something inside because I don’t like getting wet.”

Me:  “Of course.”

Him:  “Do you want to log into [an online game that includes fishing] and fish together?”

Me (Indulgently):  “Sure.”

Him:  “Isn’t this great?”

Me (Uncertainly as I watch our avatars standing together in virtual rain as they fish):  “Yes . . .?”

Posted In Honor Of Today’s Weather

Some people create their own storms, then get mad when it rains.

– Unknown

They Run, I Suppose

Some time back I read that one way to train an elephant to stay in place for the night was to tether it with a heavy chain around its leg when it was a calf.  The calf would strain against the chain at first, but eventually the calf would learn that it couldn’t break the chain, and stop straining against it.  It would learn this lesson so well, in fact, that once the calf had grown into an elephant that could break the chain, it still wouldn’t strain against the chain because it had long ago learned that the chain was “unbreakable.”  In fact, by the time the elephant reached adulthood, the trainers would have actually dispensed with using a chain at all, because a simple rope worked just as well at that point.

I don’t actually know if this is true, or if this is just an elaborate analogy; regardless, I take the point of the anecdote . . . but I still have to wonder something:

What do the trainers do if the elephant ever does figure out that it had been tricked all those years, particularly if the elephants decides to hold a grudge over it?

So It’s Going To Take More Than Just Pointing Out The Common Ground

While I appreciate all those who call for unity and point out that our similarities far outweigh our differences, I feel the need to point out just how bitter the arguments can get between people who can all agree that football is a great game . . .

Good To Know. I’m Just Going To File That Little Tidbit Away For Future Reference Now

Every time I hear someone say they’d prefer to deal with a situation like pulling off a Band-Aid (i.e., doing it quickly so as not to prolong the pain), I remember a time when *I* said something like that.

It was a few days after I’d had a decidedly minor surgery, but not so minor that it hadn’t necessitated a hospital stay during that time.  At this point I was bored and I was eager to go home, and the last obstacle standing in my way was the removal of my post-surgery bandages (which were attached to me via some sort of adhesive).

So the doctor comes in, makes the usual small talk, then asks me if I want the bandages removed “fast or slow.”  Naturally, I say fast.

That’s when he looks at me like he’s really seeing me for the first time.  “I was kidding,” he said with deadly seriousness.  “Fast would kill you.”

And That’s A Bit Of A Wonder In And Of Itself

Truth be told, I’ve been dreading the release of the Wonder Woman movie because, while there have been many fine actresses playing female superheroes, the world has yet to see a movie generally considered to be a good female superhero movie, and, bluntly, I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

But as I write this now, I see that the pre-release reviews of the movie on Rotten Tomatoes put it at 96% fresh, and . . . I still can’t dare to hope because I know that number will change as more reviews come in.

But I am cautiously optimistic about the movie right now, and that hasn’t happened in a long time.