Kids Today

Okay, at the risk of sounding like an old fogie (too late. Does anyone still say, "Old Fogie"), kids today live a different world than I did. I know. So did our parents. Still, I think about the differences. Last night, as we got ready to drive back home from visiting relatives, I looked into the back seat and marveled. My kids have a great setup for driving.

1. Car seats with cup holders, containing a drink and a snack.
2. A fully heated backseat. (The old station wagon my parent's had heated the front seat too much and the back seat not at all).
3. A warm blanket each, to snuggle under while the car drives.
4. A DVD player, to watch a Disney movie all the way home.

I know, my parent's probably marveled as well. We, after all, did have a heater in the car, even if it didn't work for the back seat. If asked, they would probably talk about putting heated bricks on the floor to warm up the car (or horse-drawn buggy).

But there are things we had, or were able to do, that our kids never will.

1. Do you remember laying down on the back seat of the car? Nodding off watching the street lights go by? Forget car seats. We used to lay down like it was a couch.
2. How about wandering around the car while it was driving? Are any of my readers old enough to remember playing in the far back of the station wagon? Just a wide, flat floor and a pile of toys. We were mobile. We weren't strapped into anything.
3. We had highways that went through towns, instead of super-highways that travel over the towns. We stopped in every dumb road-side attraction (and I really liked them. I still like to watch the old state park films on local histories and geographic features).

And what do kids miss out on the most? Being able to complain about how worse their life was compared to modern life. But, then, every generation really can do that, can't they? Our grandparents had to carry water from the well. Our parents had to heat bath water on the stove. We were lucky to have a shower in my day. What will our kids complain about?

"In my day, we had to use water to take a shower. You kids today get clean using phasers to burn off all the germs along with the filth."

And if they have "sonic showers", I wonder if they can watch movies while showering, since there's no water. Or will they have cranial computers inside their heads where they can watch a movie any time they want? Think about it. A movie beamed directly to the pleasure center of the brain. Watch the movie inside your head.

"In my day, we had to use our eyes to watch a movie."

Waiting

Yep. That's what I'm doing. Waiting.

• Waiting for my tea to cool. Hey, tea is cool. It's Earl Grey. (Picard is still cool, isn't he)?
• Waiting to find out if my Math 201 test arrived in time to get credit, or if I've been dropped from the class.
• Waiting for Christmas. To find out if my wife likes her gifts. Actually, I did pretty good this year. I'm certain she'll like them. I'm doomed, aren't I?
• Waiting for the construction company to finish my workspace, so I can get back to my regular building.
• Waiting for the kids to fall asleep so I can go to bed. (If I go up now, they'll run around like wild savages.
• And, yeah, I'll admit it. Waiting to see what I get for Christmas.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

You know what I miss? I miss seeing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. What's that you say? You believe they still have the Parade on TV?

No, they don't.

Oh, don't get me wrong. It's listed as being on. Two stations in my area claim to show it. But they don't actually show the parade. They show two people talk about the parade. Then switch to a performance. Then to a commercial. Then back to two people talking about the parade. You get lots of description about the parade. Let's not forget a view of the crowd that actually gets to see the parade. Then, finally, they show a balloon. Then, frantically, they dive back to the two talking heads, for fear they may actually show a glimpse of a marching band.

Just now, you could see Snoopy coming toward the camera, but they cut away, to show Shrek's butt some blocks away. Shrek was on his way to the other camera. Why cut to the balloon that has already gone by, to miss one of the other balloons? Now they have a special guest from a TV show and we're watching them talk about the show and a little about the parade. Meanwhile, behind them, you can almost see the parade passing by.

I can remember a time when they showed all the different spectaculars. They showed each marching band, each balloon, each float and all the various dignitary (that was when you went to the bathroom). Every now and then, there was a quick commercial. I think that's how I would like to see a parade on TV. Leave the camera in one place, to simulate standing on the side of the street, so that you get a feeling of the actual event.

Heck, I would be satisfied if we saw one hour worth of parade during the three hours. 45 minutes maybe. So much better than the 30 minutes of highlights we get now, and we have to sit through 3 hours to get it.

Hmm, let's try showing a presidential debate this way. Listen to two people talk about the debate. Cut to the crowd watching the debate. A quick 5 seconds of an actual candidate talking, then cut back to the two hosts. I might watch that.

What a Day

Came home, 4-year-old was crying. To make a long story short, ended up with three stitches.

The End.

The story was too short? Okay, the long version...

I had been sick. So I went only one place, to donate some toys, and planned to come home and take a nap. (Hey, I was still sick. Normally I can donate toys AND eat lunch before I need a nap). Anyway, so I came home, thinking fondly of the couch and a soft blanket, with the cat sleeping on me and the dog standing guard beside me.

Well, okay, the cat would have been trying to get me up to feed her early, and the dog would have been trying to get the cat. So I probably wouldn't have had a good nap anyway. Or, at least, I would have just been hiding under the blanket while the animals fought above me (imagine the cat and dog from Tom and Jerry. Um, no... no mice. I know, it's not a perfect example. It's just an image. Come on people, Focus).

What was I talking about? Stitches. Gotcha.

So I come in the house, thinking about wonderful sleep (even if it was only a pipe dream), when I'm greeted with crying down the hall. All I can think is, "now what?" My eight-year-old comes around the corner, self-righteously announcing, "See, told you you shouldn't do it." And, again, all I can think is "now what?" Then my wife comes around the corner, puts my bleeding daughter into my arms, says, "Get in the car, we're going to the hospital," and disappears to take the eight-year-old over to the neighbors.

Now, with the first kid, I used to panic. The first time my first-born had a cold (as an infant), I hurried him to the doctor. The bemused doctor looked at me and said, "This is your first, isn't it?" So, okay, I've calmed a bit since then. So, while the 4-year-old cried, I calmly gathered up what I needed, hooked her into the carseat, and had the car running, ready to go, before my wife made it back from the neighbors. Panic is, after all, inefficient.

Okay. Maybe I panicked a little. Just a little. She is my little girl, after all.

I waited until we were driving before I found out what had happened. Sometimes, it's better to get moving than to stop and ask questions. She had been showing her brother that she could balance on a dining room chair (I still don't know if she was balancing the chair on two chair legs, or transferring from one chair to another. It's a little difficult to understand a crying four-year-old). She slipped and fell face first onto the other chair, hitting her chin.

So, we now have had our first stitches. Somehow, with all the falling, with all the leaping with light sabres, with chasing Pokemon through the backyard and wrestling all his friends, my eight-year-old has managed to avoid stitches. With how active they are, and how often they push their own limits, I'm amazed there have been no broken bones and, now, only three stitches.

Think I'd like to keep it that way.

Nothing is worse than having a hurt kid. And only the kid get's the lollipop. It's the parent's who need it. Adrenaline wears off and you get shaky. No nap after that.

I love my kids. But I really miss having naps.

And a savings account. I miss that too.

I need some sleep.

Wisdom of Kids (Childish Wisdom)

This week, at work, we found a note a child had written...

"If you see animals running, it means a volcano has exploded."

We all laughed. But I started thinking. That's the kind of wisdom that kids can lock onto which adults often have forgotten. Think about what it says. "If you see animals running, they must be running from something, and if they are all running, they must be running from something really bad." Think about the practical side of this.

When the tsunami hit in the pacific, the animals reacted to the sudden low tide. This should have been a warning to people as well. "When you see animals running..."

This applies to other things as well. "If you see leaves dropping, the temperature is going to start to drop" "If something makes you nervous or worried, you should probably listen to your instincts." "If you are scared of something, there might be a really good reason." And, the most important... "If you see the dark, scary house, for heaven's sake, don't go inside." "If you go inside, don't split up." And, "If you do split up, go with Fred and Velma, not Shaggy and Scooby, they end up running too much."

Happy Halloween readers. (All three of you).

So much space and so little to write

How do people find stuff to write in their blog every day? Admittedly I think of great things to write about while I'm driving to work. Then I deal with customers, argue with co-workers, fight with computers and basically get through the work day. By the time I get home, I have no idea what it was I was going to write about.

Maybe the answer is to spend the first half hour of work writting in my blog. Probably wouldn't make my boss happy.

Maybe I should leave a half hour early from home, so I have a half hour to work on my blog before I start work.

So my choice is get up early or hide from my boss. Of course, we know the correct way to decide...

Which one takes the least effort. Right?

An answer to Gayle

Gayle made it to the subject line. It's almost as good as being googled, isn't it? It's a lot closter than I ever came.

Gayle, I answered your comment in your myspace account. Is that the best place (I generally don't answer messages in my blog itself, since it's open to so many people, but receiving comments is cool. Can I answer to your myspace, or do you have a blog? Let me know if the message didn't get through).

Could you try making another comment to my blog (this one). I changed the settings and want to see what it does.

Thanks!!!

Fall

Summer ended abruptly. It was really hot and sunny. Then, in two days, it's suddenly autumn. And you know what autumn brings...

Nice, hot soup. Breath puff-clouds in the morning. Sharp, crystal clear starry nights. Chasing the kids outside with warm jackets. Crunchy leaves. Blustery days. Soggy shoes. Hot apple pie. Cub Scout meetings. Pumpkin Pie. Selling popcorn for Cub Scouts. Sitting on the back porch with a hot cup of tea. Wearing a barn coat while walking the dog. Warming hands with a cup of coffee. Cuddling on the couch while watching TV. A warm cat on your lap. Putting up storm windows. Taking down table umbrellas. Warm sweaters. The smell of wood fires in the morning. The smell of cookies baking. Fresh bread with thick stews. Not washing cars. Not mowing lawns. Being indoors long enough to add something to your blog.

It's fall.

Vacation

Dang. I've become my dad.

Let me list the reasons I say that...

1. While my kids (little kids) hiked up the trail, I huffed and puffed after them like a steam engine.
2. When my kids looked over the edge of a cliff, I rushed forward, shouting they were sure to fall off.
3. I drove 3 hours to get to the beach and then only gave them 1 hour to play. Why? Because I knew there would be 3 hours to drive back.
4. If I see someplace cool to go, but the kids will get bored, I avoid going, no matter how much I want to see it, because avoiding the irritating behavior is a higher reward than seeing the interesting site.
5. Interesting sites now include regional artwork, vista views and educational displays.
6. Cool sites are classified as places with air conditioning, not places that are hip.
7. I bought ice cream cones for everyone. Then had to buy another cone for each kid, after the original cone ended up on the ground.
8. When I was a young adult, I used to chat with pleasant people. When I was a teenager, I used to chat with pretty girls. Now I don't notice if there's anyone else on the beach, unless my kids are annoying them. Then I'm apologizing, not chatting.
9. Old men come up and assume I'm the grandfather, not the father.
10. Wouldn't it be nice to drive without any music or storybooks playing on the CD player? Quiet, precious quiet.
11. My favorite part of vacation is getting home and going to sleep.

I thought this was a great comic. To see more, go to www.unshelved.com. The fourth or fifth book collection is coming out. They're really good. I suggest reading them in order. You can also borrow the books from the King County library.

I did it. And I'm glad I did.

I have taken the plunge. I have moved up to High Speed Internet. No more dialup. Yahoo, people can call me while I'm on line. Darn, people can bother me while I'm online. I can now go to fast speed-required sites. Videos, podcasts and online streaming. I've entered the 21st century. (No more of that medieval dialup).

What's next? Digital Cable? Push button phone? Electric lights? Baths in the cement pond? The skies the limit!!!!

I Shouldn't Have to Write This. You Shouldn't have to Read it.

I was thinking today about a statement I’ve heard more and more often over the last few years. “You shouldn’t have to…” or “I shouldn’t have to…” It’s then followed by something unpleasant or annoying. “You shouldn’t have to carry that.” “I shouldn’t have to clean this up.”
Now, if the statements were about something horrific. “I shouldn’t have to go to war and kill people if I’m morally opposed.” That I could understand. But it’s just small stuff. “My neighbor whistles off-key while she’s gardening. I shouldn’t have to hear that.” People seem to feel that their perfect world is their right. I have a right to silence outside. But I also have a right to play any music I want outside. Too often, it boils down to whatever I want is what should happen.
The problem is, sometimes my perfect world collides with your perfect world. I want a big fence so I can have a big dog. My neighbor doesn’t want a fence so that breezes will blow freely by his door. He might say, “I shouldn’t have to have a fence.” But I might say, “I shouldn’t be kept from having a big dog.” And present culture-philosophy has a lot of trouble seeing someone else’s point of view. So neither of us would be likely to compromise.
“I shouldn’t have to listen to someone talk about politics.” But freedom of speech isn’t freedom not to hear what someone thinks. It’s freedom to announce what you think, without fear of retribution. That doesn’t mean without someone disagreeing. Being able to disagree vocally is part of freedom of speech. But so often, people today think that to disagree means to shout someone else down. People have lost the ability to debate coherently.
And since it’s late, I’ve lost the ability to carry a thought coherently. So I better stop before I start to ramble. (Too late).

The Dog

Yep. That's all this post today is about. The dog. Ooooo, are you excited yet? Okay, here is the newest picture of the dog.

image

First Message

Yes! This IS the first message. Aren't you excited? Okay, that's about as exciting as this gets for today, until I've had a chance to work with it.