Okay, this is just the coolest thing!

Read this article about these 200 people who invaded Home Depot for Arts Sake!

Maybe it’s just because I think it would be awesome to be shopping and have this happen, because it’s so theatrical and fun, but I just love this whole thing!

My daughter, Maggie, is currently infatuated with Hawaii. All things Hawaiian.

Her 8-year old enthusiasm is wonderful to behold. She’s used her saved-up-money to buy an assortment of things to decorate her room; Flowered leis, a grass skirt, she even has an inflatable palm tree. It’s very fun.

So, at the library this week, one of the books she checked out was a “Hawaiian/English Phrase Book”. She’s been going around the house spouting and translating Hawaiian phrases. “That means Where’s the bathroom?“, etc…

Yesterday, she was in the car with my wife, Jeanne, and read a phrase. Several sentences in Hawaiian. A long one. When she’s done, she says “That one means Don’t get that wet. A man was stabbed in the breast here last night.”

?!?!

Jeanne says “What?! Honey, are you reading it right?”

Well, Maggie is an excellent reader. Reading nearly 3 grades above her own. And it turns out, she WAS reading it right.

Don’t get that wet. A man was stabbed in the breast here last night.

What.
In.
The.
Hell?

Is this a common phrase in Hawaii?
I mean, I’ve never visited Hawaii, so maybe I’m not up on all of their customs.
Possibly there’s some Hawaiian thing, a local practice I don’t know about…if so, and you’re aware of it, please share.

Still…this just does not seem like a normal, everyday phrase that might come up in the day of an average tourist. I can’t even figure out what CONTEXT that freaking sentence would make sense in!! Don’t get WHAT wet? And how does that relate to the stabbing? And…in the breast? I mean, yes, technically it’s correct, but…and why are we even discussing a stabbing? Who writes these books, and what kind of day-to-day activities do they engage in that this sentence seemed like a worthy inclusion in a Hawaiian Phrase Book?!

So, Jeanne and I have spent the last day and 1/2 laughing our butts off and reminding each other to NOT GET THAT WET! THERE’S BEEN A STABBING!

Sometimes the world just makes me laugh…and make a squinty “What the hell?!” face.

Okay, I have to journal about the great day I had, but first I had to post this picture:

It’s the hood of a Ford car, with a Santa Claus Pez Dispenser glued on as a hood ornament.

Santa there was parked next to me this evening when I went shopping, and I couldn’t resist a picture with my phone!

In other news, the kids and I had a great time today. We went to the Tigers game.

It was Kids Run The Bases Day, so after the game we got to go onto the field, where they ran around the bases, and they had a blast! It’s so fun to be on the field, even if I’m too old to run the bases, just being down there is really exciting! So, while we gave Jeanne a “Mom gets a day to herself to do some workin’ and relaxin'” day, we wandered around the ballpark with our Standing Room Only tickets, and found a nice place to sit by a railing and watch the game.

Consumed today at the ballpark were 3 processed meat products in buns [1 hot dog with ketchup (Max), 1 giant hot dog with mustard and onions (Tony) and one plain Italian Sausage (Maggie!)], one bag of peanuts, one bag of cotton candy (blue, on a stick!), 2 sno-cones, and 4 bottles of water. We watched and cheered as the Tigers scored 6 runs, then wandered around the park looking at statues (“Dad! Those are the best Tigers ever? Wow!”), riding the merry go round and waiting in line for the family bathroom while the Rangers scored 7 runs. Then we waited in line to run the bases as the Tigers were officially declared “in a slump” by losing their third game in a row (and something like their 8th loss in the last 10 games, or some equally horrible number.) The team needs to kick it up a notch, or their lead is going to disappear very, very quickly.

Despite the loss, a good time was had by all! It was fun sitting there, not having a seat but having staked a claim to a little spot by the railing where we could see. During the first few innings while we were actually sitting and watching, I got to explain all sorts of the rules and how/why’s of baseball to the kids, who were very excited about the game. A couple older gentlemen were in seats next to where we were perched, and they were watching me and the kids, and occasionally throwing in a “What’d ya think of that?!” to Max or Maggie. It was neat, these older gentlemen were clearly enjoying watching me introducing the next generation into the game, and more than once I caught them just watching us with wistful, melancholy smiles that made me squeeze the kids.

As I sat there with Max and Maggie, their lips purple from sno-cones, I wondered “Where will they be, years from now, when I’m the old man sitting here watching the game. Will they be fans? Will they be here with me? Or will they be far away, living their lives?”

And, thankfully, before I could get too far into those thoughts, it was time for hotdogs!

Wow. This is NOT how to treat the people who risk their lives daily for the benefit of society!

Sometimes people are just amazing.

So today my wife Jeanne and my daughter Maggie have a baby shower they’re helping throw/attending/being busy at all day.

So…

This means it’s a Max and Daddy day!
I get to spend all day hanging out with my 6 year old, doing “boy” stuff!

We’ve decided to mix it up…some video games, maybe an indoor playground for some climbing and running (it’s raining outside).
Possibly a movie at the dollar show (Over The Hedge is playing!), and lunch at his choice of dining establishments.

Enough typing…it’s playtime!!

Well, the last several days have been busy, but good. Very good, in fact.

Saw two plays: I Am My Own Wife at the Performance Network in Ann Arbor, and Honus and Me at The Purple Rose Theatre Company. Two very different productions. Both very theatrical in their own way, which was nice to see, and both good evenings of theatre.

Attended a going away dinner for my brother in law, Scott, who will be moving to Newberry Springs, CA. This dinner was thrown by my father-in-law, who picked up the tab for the whole clan at the fantastic Meriwether’s I had the Cedar Planked Salmon with a side of Shrimp Scampi, and it was excellent. I also had a taste of my sister-in-law Jackie’s filet mignon, which I will be having next time we go there…which will be a trip we make specifically so I can have the filet mignon, cuz Yum.

Also, on Friday night my beautiful wife and I took the kids and had a nice barbecue evening with our friends Chris and Tobin, and then wandered around the Dexter Daze street fair a few blocks from their house. Great fun.

Saturday we had a bunch of volunteers come help us, and the Williamston Theatre now has seats. Installed, looking fantastic. It was a great day, and the difference in the theatre is amazing.

I’m hoping to post good pictures soon! Until then…

Click for the lousy pictures from my cell phone

All about me!

So sleepy.
So sore.
Williamston Theatre has seats. They’re in the lobby, waiting to be installed.
They’re marvelous.
They’re heavy.
We had a ton of help yesterday unbolting them from the floor of the theatre where they’d sat for years, and carrying the beautiful, cast iron seats (in two’s or three’s) up the stairs and to the truck.
I think everyone involved is now hearing from muscles they’d forgotten they had…getting a little message that says “Um…what were you thinking?”
Or maybe it’s just me.
More on this topic, including pictures, later.
Before I fall asleep, I just want to say this:

A day spent surrounded by people of good spirit, generosity, and wonderfulness…as they happily labor and sweat in support of a dream…is a beautiful, humbling, inspiring thing.

Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens’ books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy to…all living beings on this planet.

-Bruce Williamson, It’s Never Too Late To Have A Happy Childhood

Our thoughts create our reality — where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go.
-Peter McWilliams

It’s interesting, where my head went reading this quote. I had one of those days where the list of things I had to get done was so big that I wanted to just run away from it.

We all have those days, I guess. So, I did – run away from it, I mean. For a little while, anyway.

I learned a while ago that I really enjoy the feeling of satisfaction of making those lists and, then, checking things off of them one by one as I accomplish them. Still, though, sometimes in our lives those lists get so big that you just need an escape. Today, my escape was sort of a little “working vacation” since I actually made a trip to the store to pick up some things we needed for the house. I did, however, go to a store way out of the way so that I could treat myself to a lunch.

I went to the fantastic Taqueria La Loma. This is a wonderful Mexican restaurant about 1/2 hour from our house. Our friends Ann and Duncan introduced us to it earlier this year. So good! Today I enjoyed an absolute feast – 3 chorizo tacos, a side of refried beans, and incredible chips and salsa. Simple, cheap, and absolutely spectacular.

After satisfying that particular craving, I finished my shopping. Then headed home and looked at the list. Nope, it hadn’t gotten shorter. So, I prioritized it into “Get done now” and “Can wait until later”, and off I went!

A while later, when I went back to check off a few things I’d gotten done, I found myself singing. (It’s Tricky, by Run-DMC, which I had heard earlier in the day. Yep, I was singing a rap song from WAY back when!)

Checking some stuff off that list was great. There’s still too much on it, and I’ll probably spend all of Sunday on it, but I love that sense of satisfaction. Veni, Vidi, Vici.

And, I think Peter McWilliams is right. Focus. Move forward. Lists, life, business, family…

We create our realities. One little step at a time.

Sometimes, with chorizo tacos and checklists!