Regular Life

In a plan whipped up by my brother and me on Thursday, I got the second half of Friday off and whisked Benjamin away for his first cousin’s birthday party weekend. A six-hour drive later we arrived, and only after shaking off his nap did LC realize Ben really was right there in the same room with him — not just in an online video clip or in his dreams.

It would be a tragic miscarriage of justice to state that the party had a pirate theme. Pictures convey the feeling only marginally better.

Early on, Benjamin channeled Errol Flynn as he leapt from one waterslide pool to the other. Seriously short on damsels in distress, he settled for saving his own skin.

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I’m pretty sure a local store owner thinks my wife is a drunk.

Benjamin and I spent the past weekend on a last-minute trip to my brother’s home. We surprised Ben’s only first cousin for his fifth birthday. Shannon couldn’t go because of a couple of prior commitments, including auditioning for a local chorus. More on all of that later.

What’s important right now is that Benjamin and I screeched in at the last minute for Shannon’s birthday on Sunday. There wasn’t a party, but it’s never a good idea to be away from your wife/mommy on the actual day. I had gifts for Shannon, but Benjamin had not had a chance to pick out anything.

Monday after I got off work, I picked Ben up from this week’s camp and stopped in the Historic Downtown District so he could pick out something unique from a local shop. Sadly, most of the shops down there close right at 5 p.m., and I had picked him up at about 4:45.

At the first place we stopped, he picked out a $38 stuffed animal. I hated to put the kibosh on his first choice, but that was way outside his budget. The store’s contents were comprised almost entirely of jack o’lanterns, witches, and other Hallowe’en stuff. We got out quickly.

Next up, we found a shop still open and the one next to it slated to close at 6 p.m. Score!

Benjamin browsed and found candles that looked like green olives. Nearby, he found several decorated Martini glasses. A few were fruity, one was chocolaty, and the last one was more in the classic line — adorned by green olives and the words “sophisticated” and “intelligent.” Benjamin chose the latter to match the candles. I’ve never seen my wife drink a martini at home, and the few she’s had elsewhere featured neither olives nor the traditional ingredients. It was a special gift, however, and I’m sure she’ll make use of it somehow.

That may be simpler than taking up a new drink, however. Benjamin showed her exactly how she should arrange the glass with the candles, as if he expected it to be decorative rather than functional.

I’m sure the store owner didn’t think twice about why a five-year-old honed in on a Martini glass as the perfect birthday present for his mommy. Even if he did, anyone who knows Shannon could tell him a frosty mug of beer would be more her style.

Hayes family — it was an honor to meet you and I am very sorry for your loss.

Note: Those reading “The Keys Are In It” may continue to Part Ten, where the scene finally changes and a familiar character returns.

One of my works from college art class (see relevance below).
Click to enlarge

In my quest to run exclusively Ubuntu Linux (a free alternative to Microsoft Windows) at home for one month, I have completed the first week.

So far:

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While Benjamin decides which movie to watch (above)*, I’m second-guessing a parenting decision.

Benjamin received a very cool Star Wars sticker book for his fifth birthday. He came to a page with Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace characters on it and asked, “Do we have the one with these guys in it?”

I happily answered, “Yes,” and told him it was the one with the pod race (a scene he and I have watched together many times). He opened the DVD cabinet, removed the correct disc, and inserted it into the DVD player.

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(click to enlarge)

There are some photographs I’m just never going to show you.

Neighbors walking by our house on Saturday morning perhaps thought it strange that my wife trimmed the hedges while Benjamin and I played. To be fair, I did sweep the front porch and sidewalk after she finished, and the boy helped stuff the garbage bags full of fresh-cut twigs.

Mostly, I took pictures. Sadly, Shannon requested that I not publish any of her. She was not fixed up for the day, but, as you can tell from one of the pictures, neither was I. She looked great out there running that electric hedge trimmer. My lady, power tools, and sweat.

Whoa.

But we’re not here to talk about that kind of thing. Nope, instead I’m just sharing a couple of pictures from that morning. The second one is cropped because I asked Shannon not to place us right in the center of the picture, but I didn’t like the way it looked.

Who you callin’ scruffy-lookin’? (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge. Cropped.)

Benjamin soared at a recent birthday party. Later, I threw him (pics follow).

This place was great. During the school year it’s a preschool with a gymnastics bent, and in the off season its doors are open to anyone who shells out cash, and their guests. The kids can play in bounce houses, inflatable obstacle courses, and, of course, the pit of foam cubes.

Then the staff doles out the squirt guns. (click any pic to enlarge)

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(Those reading my short story “They Keys Are In It” may go on to Part Nine. Warning: not everybody lives through this chapter.)

The month of Ubuntu has begun. I am typing this in the Ubuntu Linux distribution that I installed on Saturday, and so far things are going great, and they’re only getting better (to borrow a phrase).

Let me just say now that I’m not doing this because I’m unhappy with Windows XP. On the contrary, it has treated me well. The only problem I’ve had in years is the incompatibility between Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 and my CPU, but that’s not Windows’ fault. My XP system has been rock solid, stable, and responsive.

Every couple years or so I try Linux again to see whether it is something that 1) the average computer user can install and use, and 2) a pc geek father and busy blogger/writer can install and use with minimal fuss.

I never have been so pleased with the results.

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Actual search term that led someone to this site: tips to manage 6th grade rock n roll band.

I can only imagine who typed that phrase into Google’s search form. A parent convinced that his or her child is destined to be a star, and wants to hitch a ride on the gravy train? A child hoping to help friends get gigs at local clubs?

The blog post that led the searcher here was a recent one about Benjamin’s newfound interest in playing guitar while making up his own songs. Sure, it might be a fleeting interest, but these are the things that help children develop into bigger children. That’s pretty much what all of us are, after all.

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Whoa. Here is what we get in the Dallas metro area this time of year. Plenty more of this is expected in August. And look at those “low” temperatures. This isn’t meant as a competition. I’m sure there are folks reading this who have it worse than we do. I just happen to be taking pictures of our television and posting it, so I win. I mean, if it were a competition, which it isn’t.

I admit that the heat in my home state of Arkansas was worse because the humidity was much higher on a consistent basis. But, still, we could stand to break 100 degrees on fewer days.