R.A. White's Blog, page 12
November 17, 2015
Baby Noodle: A Trooper Story.
I was boiling some Penne to eat with sautéed vegetables when Trooper came in to help. Since I needed some space around the skillet, I asked him to tend the noodles. He graciously obliged, moving his stool over to stir the Penne so it wouldn't stick.
Well, I looked over and he was about to add another noodle to the pot, which had already been boiling for several minutes. "No, don't put that in there," I said. "It won't be cooked enough when the others are done, and it'll be tough."
"But Mom, his mom is in there!"
I cut my eyes at him. "His mom can be in that measuring cup. Put him and his family in there, but don't put them in the pot."
He sadly turned from the pot and began playing with dry noodles in the measuring cup.
For a minute.
I turned from the sink to find him quickly dropping one noodle into the bubbling pot. "Trooper! Leave the kitchen! I just told you not to put that in there."
"But Mom, he needs his mom! He's with his mom, now. They're hugging! Listen, can you hear that? That's them hugging."
How could I respond to that? How could I make him leave the kitchen, when even baby noodle got to be with his mom? So, instead of following through, I hid my laugh and sighed at my own weak will.
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Well, I looked over and he was about to add another noodle to the pot, which had already been boiling for several minutes. "No, don't put that in there," I said. "It won't be cooked enough when the others are done, and it'll be tough."
"But Mom, his mom is in there!"
I cut my eyes at him. "His mom can be in that measuring cup. Put him and his family in there, but don't put them in the pot."
He sadly turned from the pot and began playing with dry noodles in the measuring cup.
For a minute.
I turned from the sink to find him quickly dropping one noodle into the bubbling pot. "Trooper! Leave the kitchen! I just told you not to put that in there."
"But Mom, he needs his mom! He's with his mom, now. They're hugging! Listen, can you hear that? That's them hugging."
How could I respond to that? How could I make him leave the kitchen, when even baby noodle got to be with his mom? So, instead of following through, I hid my laugh and sighed at my own weak will.
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November 15, 2015
The French Flag
Adapted from a facebook comment, in regard to overlaying the French flag on facebook profile pictures:
I'm not necessarily against changing profile pictures for this, but I've begun to wonder 'why France?', when so many countries in Africa see worse on a weekly basis. It's hard for me to believe there isn't truly a misplaced value on life, that we as a nation (and maybe the world) truly do value the lives of white people more than those of people of color. I'm not speaking of you as an individual or any other individuals, but of us as a whole. This was a terrible act of terrorism, and I don't want to minimize it, but when compared to other events (college and village masacres, for example) I don't understand why this was picked for a nationwide 'show of solidarity'. Again, I'm not saying I think that individuals who add the French flag are racists, only that I believe it's a sypmtom of a deep problem with the way we as a group see the world.
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I'm not necessarily against changing profile pictures for this, but I've begun to wonder 'why France?', when so many countries in Africa see worse on a weekly basis. It's hard for me to believe there isn't truly a misplaced value on life, that we as a nation (and maybe the world) truly do value the lives of white people more than those of people of color. I'm not speaking of you as an individual or any other individuals, but of us as a whole. This was a terrible act of terrorism, and I don't want to minimize it, but when compared to other events (college and village masacres, for example) I don't understand why this was picked for a nationwide 'show of solidarity'. Again, I'm not saying I think that individuals who add the French flag are racists, only that I believe it's a sypmtom of a deep problem with the way we as a group see the world.
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November 7, 2015
Piece of Quiet
I had to smile when Trooper prayed for me to have 'a piece of quiet' one night, and add an 'amen' in the hope that it would actually work. I used to think I was a patient person.
Despite my ever growing conviction that I have no idea what I'm doing with this wild spark of a child, and a persistent fatigue of mind and spirit, there has also been laughter. For example:
1.
In our bathroom we have a vanity that breaks up the reflection into three distinct parts, two of which are large enough to see face and shoulders clearly. The third and lowest mirror is little more than a narrow strip of decorative glass, not intended for practical use. The other day I was doing something at the bathroom sink, and Trooper was, of course, in there with me. He was trying to talk to me, but he began to get frustrated. "I can't see my face!" he complained, moving around to try and find a way to meet my eyes in the mirror.
In a moment of evil genius, I gasped in alarm. "Oh, no! It's gone!"
Trooper shrieked, "What?!" He jumped up and down, grabbing at his face in a panicked attempt to find it. For just a moment he was terrified that he had somehow lost his beautiful, googly-eyed face, and instead of feeling bad about my little prank, I laughed my head off.
2.
Soon after breakfast one morning, Trooper was, as usual, causing some sort of mayhem or another. I, as usual, repeated some sort of instruction or another as I was walking by him. I don't know if his sudden gagging fit was in response to my instruction, or if he just randomly had a flashback to his time on the Star Destroyer, but before he could fall to the floor in feigned Darth Vader strangulation, his gagging triggered a real gag. I heard the difference in the sound and turned around to see if he was ok, but I shouldn't have worried. He was chewing away, and when he met my eye he said, "I'm back to eating my egg."
3.
Trooper and Jonathan were playing a game where they pretend to snatch pieces of each other's faces and eat them or trade them. Trooper grabbed Jonathan's beard to 'steal' it, and Jonathan said, "Don't pull on my beard, I need it to hold on my 'yips' ('lips' in Trooperish)."
Trooper smiled, but I interrupted the game with this philosophical question: "Trooper, what's holding on your lips?"
His smile faded into a confused frown as his hands left Jonathan's face and began prodding his own mouth. "I don’t know?" he said, pulling at his upper lip. "My mustache?"
I should be nicer.
4.
Me: OK, go get dressed and I'm going to use the bathroom.
Trooper: Be careful. Don't stick your head in the toilette.
Me: What?!
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Despite my ever growing conviction that I have no idea what I'm doing with this wild spark of a child, and a persistent fatigue of mind and spirit, there has also been laughter. For example:
1.
In our bathroom we have a vanity that breaks up the reflection into three distinct parts, two of which are large enough to see face and shoulders clearly. The third and lowest mirror is little more than a narrow strip of decorative glass, not intended for practical use. The other day I was doing something at the bathroom sink, and Trooper was, of course, in there with me. He was trying to talk to me, but he began to get frustrated. "I can't see my face!" he complained, moving around to try and find a way to meet my eyes in the mirror.
In a moment of evil genius, I gasped in alarm. "Oh, no! It's gone!"
Trooper shrieked, "What?!" He jumped up and down, grabbing at his face in a panicked attempt to find it. For just a moment he was terrified that he had somehow lost his beautiful, googly-eyed face, and instead of feeling bad about my little prank, I laughed my head off.
2.
Soon after breakfast one morning, Trooper was, as usual, causing some sort of mayhem or another. I, as usual, repeated some sort of instruction or another as I was walking by him. I don't know if his sudden gagging fit was in response to my instruction, or if he just randomly had a flashback to his time on the Star Destroyer, but before he could fall to the floor in feigned Darth Vader strangulation, his gagging triggered a real gag. I heard the difference in the sound and turned around to see if he was ok, but I shouldn't have worried. He was chewing away, and when he met my eye he said, "I'm back to eating my egg."
3.
Trooper and Jonathan were playing a game where they pretend to snatch pieces of each other's faces and eat them or trade them. Trooper grabbed Jonathan's beard to 'steal' it, and Jonathan said, "Don't pull on my beard, I need it to hold on my 'yips' ('lips' in Trooperish)."
Trooper smiled, but I interrupted the game with this philosophical question: "Trooper, what's holding on your lips?"
His smile faded into a confused frown as his hands left Jonathan's face and began prodding his own mouth. "I don’t know?" he said, pulling at his upper lip. "My mustache?"
I should be nicer.
4.
Me: OK, go get dressed and I'm going to use the bathroom.
Trooper: Be careful. Don't stick your head in the toilette.
Me: What?!
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November 3, 2015
My Favorite Color is Sunshine
1. Trooper's plate was empty all but for two small biscuit crumbs. He pushed it toward me, saying, "It's almost all gone."
I nodded as I ate another bite of my own dinner, "Mhm."
He stared at me for a moment. "Can I have yours?"
"What?! We have more biscuit and gravy in the kitchen."
"But I thought we were gonna trade."
My eggs, biscuits, and sausage gravy for his two crumbs. And of course I gave it to him.
2. I was telling a friend about Trooper's flu shot last year, when he threatened the nurse, telling her he was coming back and his name is Clive White. My friend laughed, and said, "What was he going to do to her?" And we moved on to talk about something else.
But then I heard Trooper saying something that caught my attention, and as I tuned in to him I heard him saying, "I swit her froat, shshsh, no, I just make her drink beer and die!"
Because apparently, sometimes violence is the answer.
Trooper on Trick or Treating:
After the first house, "OK, let's go back now."
On the way to the second house, "This is a disaster."
After the second house, "We have to go back to Miss Janet's house, now."
One minute later, "Come on, we came to get candy and we got a whole bunch of them!" (3 pieces)
Fifteen steps later, "Come on! We have to go back to talk to Miss Janet!"
And so on until we finally got into a small group with other kids. I told him I was sad that he doesn't like trick or treat, because it's one of his dad's and my favorite things. He said, "It's OK to be sad."
Trooper's story: When I was a little boy, I was a farmer. And then the chicken truck came and took away all my chickens.
Trooper on God's art: My favorite color is sunshine.
And I have some more for next week, and I'm itching to share them because they make me laugh every time I think about them. But you're going to have to wait. Love you too.
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I nodded as I ate another bite of my own dinner, "Mhm."
He stared at me for a moment. "Can I have yours?"
"What?! We have more biscuit and gravy in the kitchen."
"But I thought we were gonna trade."
My eggs, biscuits, and sausage gravy for his two crumbs. And of course I gave it to him.
2. I was telling a friend about Trooper's flu shot last year, when he threatened the nurse, telling her he was coming back and his name is Clive White. My friend laughed, and said, "What was he going to do to her?" And we moved on to talk about something else.
But then I heard Trooper saying something that caught my attention, and as I tuned in to him I heard him saying, "I swit her froat, shshsh, no, I just make her drink beer and die!"
Because apparently, sometimes violence is the answer.
Trooper on Trick or Treating:
After the first house, "OK, let's go back now."
On the way to the second house, "This is a disaster."
After the second house, "We have to go back to Miss Janet's house, now."
One minute later, "Come on, we came to get candy and we got a whole bunch of them!" (3 pieces)
Fifteen steps later, "Come on! We have to go back to talk to Miss Janet!"
And so on until we finally got into a small group with other kids. I told him I was sad that he doesn't like trick or treat, because it's one of his dad's and my favorite things. He said, "It's OK to be sad."
Trooper's story: When I was a little boy, I was a farmer. And then the chicken truck came and took away all my chickens.
Trooper on God's art: My favorite color is sunshine.
And I have some more for next week, and I'm itching to share them because they make me laugh every time I think about them. But you're going to have to wait. Love you too.
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October 28, 2015
Diverse Book Tours Presents...
I haven't had the chance to read this yet, but it's next on my list and I'm looking forward to it. Who doesn't want to read a zombie apocalypse story from the perspective of grade schoolers? It promises a diverse cast of amazing kids, and the reviews so far seem to support it, so I'm in! It even has a five star from UBR, so it has to be pretty good. I can't wait to share my thoughts on it as soon as I finish what I'm working on now. If you want to check it out and compare notes, click here.
KEVIN WAYNE WILLIAM WILL BE INTERVIEWED BY PARANORMAL TALK RADIO ON OCTOBER 30 @ 7:30 EST. http://www.spreaker.com/user/paranorm... IF YOU SIGN UP WITH SPREAKER, YOU CAN ASK THE AUTHOR LIVE QUESTIONS!
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October 23, 2015
Review of Pig Park
'Pig Park' by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
This book is very much geared toward young adults, but I confess that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a step away from my usual reading in that it's realistic fiction rather than fantasy or dystopian, and I probably never would have picked it up, but I won it in a drawing. So glad I did! There's a smidgeon of something that could almost be called a love triangle, but it's so mild and sweet that I'm not going to count it as one.
I enjoyed Masi, and I really felt for her throughout the story. Her interactions with other characters always felt real to me, as did her internal monologue. Also, I loved that her family ran a bakery (who doesn't like to read about cookies and bread?) and were neither losers nor perfect. It was all easy to follow and relatable.
The only downsides I found was that although most of the book was full of beautiful, simple prose, there were times when it fell into short, awkward, sentences in list-like paragraphs. I also found myself doubting the construction of the pyramid. It seemed like things went too smoothly and quickly, and sometimes it was huge, and then other times the kids did things like brush the walls with a sealant in the space of a morning. It seemed like it should have taken days, not to mention scaffolding. I noticed maybe four typos/missing words in the entire novel, which is pretty amazing. These things took me out of the story a few times, but it was nothing to keep me from recommending the book. It's a bit on the pricey side, $6.99, so I recommend reading the sample before you buy. I don't want anyone coming after me for their seven bucks because they bought it on my recommendation and then didn't like it.
Language: Clean.
Sexual Content: Just an innocent crush or two and a little sweet kissing.
Violence: None.
Overall Message/Plot: Wonderful. Messages about working together, learning to understand people who aren't easy to like, perseverance, and taking initiative. The plot sounded strange to me, and put me off of reading it at first, but it makes sense and kept me reading.
Find it here.
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This book is very much geared toward young adults, but I confess that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a step away from my usual reading in that it's realistic fiction rather than fantasy or dystopian, and I probably never would have picked it up, but I won it in a drawing. So glad I did! There's a smidgeon of something that could almost be called a love triangle, but it's so mild and sweet that I'm not going to count it as one.
I enjoyed Masi, and I really felt for her throughout the story. Her interactions with other characters always felt real to me, as did her internal monologue. Also, I loved that her family ran a bakery (who doesn't like to read about cookies and bread?) and were neither losers nor perfect. It was all easy to follow and relatable.
The only downsides I found was that although most of the book was full of beautiful, simple prose, there were times when it fell into short, awkward, sentences in list-like paragraphs. I also found myself doubting the construction of the pyramid. It seemed like things went too smoothly and quickly, and sometimes it was huge, and then other times the kids did things like brush the walls with a sealant in the space of a morning. It seemed like it should have taken days, not to mention scaffolding. I noticed maybe four typos/missing words in the entire novel, which is pretty amazing. These things took me out of the story a few times, but it was nothing to keep me from recommending the book. It's a bit on the pricey side, $6.99, so I recommend reading the sample before you buy. I don't want anyone coming after me for their seven bucks because they bought it on my recommendation and then didn't like it.
Language: Clean.
Sexual Content: Just an innocent crush or two and a little sweet kissing.
Violence: None.
Overall Message/Plot: Wonderful. Messages about working together, learning to understand people who aren't easy to like, perseverance, and taking initiative. The plot sounded strange to me, and put me off of reading it at first, but it makes sense and kept me reading.
Find it here.
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October 19, 2015
The Way of Kings
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
I don't feel like I owe this book a review--it's traditionally published and already has literally thousands of reviews already--but I have to share.
The Way of Kings is epic fantasy at its most epic. If you don't like 1,200 page novels about utterly fantastical worlds and peoples, you won't like this. It took me a while to get into it because the world was so foreign and I really had to adapt my brain to the way things worked, but oh, it was wonderful. Well, horrible in all the right places, but the book itself was wonderful. It handles some really serious issues and rides on a profound understanding of honor and justice, but I didn't feel preached at. I need to go back and steal a dozen or so quotes for my wall. Really, amazing. And the serious issues I mentioned include classism and a sort of racism, except that it isn't racism, it's eye-colorism. Although the characters do have diverse skin shades, they don't discriminate based upon skin color, but eye color. And to some degree hair color. I admit that I did skim a couple of battle scenes because blow by blow just really isn't my thing, but considering the length of the book, there wasn't much at all to skim. Sometimes long books are so long because the characters go in circles over and over in their minds, but in this case I felt that there was a perfect balance of introspection and motion.
The world is so incredibly original and complex, but it fits together perfectly. No leaps in logic, nothing that doesn't eventually make sense. I whole-heartedly recommend to fantasy lovers, especially those who are looking for substance and diversity.
Language: They have their own curse words, of course, just like they have their own cultures, traditions, laws, religion, and expectations.
Sexual Content: Nope. A 1,200 page book and absolutely no reliance on romance or sex to keep us interested. There are a couple places when bits of romance enhance the story, but it's no kind of crutch and it stays absolutely clean. It's one thing I love about this book. Who would have thought it could be done? I briefly thought about how this could become a TV series, but then I realized that it just wouldn’t work. No incest, no adultery, no rape. Who would watch it? But I'm being sarcastic, because obviously people can live without all that crap or this book wouldn't be so stinking popular in fantasy circles.
Violence: Oh, yeah, people killing, dismembering, dying, cutting up corpses. It's horrible, though surprisingly little time is spent describing gore.
Overall message/theme: It's heavy on important themes, has a complicated plot that's revealed at a satisfyingly careful pace, and still character driven. It's weird, for sure, but still manages to say some serious things. I'm eventually going to have to reread it and take notes so I can discuss it with people. And put the quotes on my wall. I already bought the next book, which is even longer and supposedly better than this one. Both books are at or under $9.99 (though I got this one on sale or free, I don't remember) and for this much excellent reading material, I wouldn't blink an eye at spending the money if you like fantasy.
Find it here.
Subscribe to this here lovely blog.
I don't feel like I owe this book a review--it's traditionally published and already has literally thousands of reviews already--but I have to share.
The Way of Kings is epic fantasy at its most epic. If you don't like 1,200 page novels about utterly fantastical worlds and peoples, you won't like this. It took me a while to get into it because the world was so foreign and I really had to adapt my brain to the way things worked, but oh, it was wonderful. Well, horrible in all the right places, but the book itself was wonderful. It handles some really serious issues and rides on a profound understanding of honor and justice, but I didn't feel preached at. I need to go back and steal a dozen or so quotes for my wall. Really, amazing. And the serious issues I mentioned include classism and a sort of racism, except that it isn't racism, it's eye-colorism. Although the characters do have diverse skin shades, they don't discriminate based upon skin color, but eye color. And to some degree hair color. I admit that I did skim a couple of battle scenes because blow by blow just really isn't my thing, but considering the length of the book, there wasn't much at all to skim. Sometimes long books are so long because the characters go in circles over and over in their minds, but in this case I felt that there was a perfect balance of introspection and motion.
The world is so incredibly original and complex, but it fits together perfectly. No leaps in logic, nothing that doesn't eventually make sense. I whole-heartedly recommend to fantasy lovers, especially those who are looking for substance and diversity.
Language: They have their own curse words, of course, just like they have their own cultures, traditions, laws, religion, and expectations.
Sexual Content: Nope. A 1,200 page book and absolutely no reliance on romance or sex to keep us interested. There are a couple places when bits of romance enhance the story, but it's no kind of crutch and it stays absolutely clean. It's one thing I love about this book. Who would have thought it could be done? I briefly thought about how this could become a TV series, but then I realized that it just wouldn’t work. No incest, no adultery, no rape. Who would watch it? But I'm being sarcastic, because obviously people can live without all that crap or this book wouldn't be so stinking popular in fantasy circles.
Violence: Oh, yeah, people killing, dismembering, dying, cutting up corpses. It's horrible, though surprisingly little time is spent describing gore.
Overall message/theme: It's heavy on important themes, has a complicated plot that's revealed at a satisfyingly careful pace, and still character driven. It's weird, for sure, but still manages to say some serious things. I'm eventually going to have to reread it and take notes so I can discuss it with people. And put the quotes on my wall. I already bought the next book, which is even longer and supposedly better than this one. Both books are at or under $9.99 (though I got this one on sale or free, I don't remember) and for this much excellent reading material, I wouldn't blink an eye at spending the money if you like fantasy.
Find it here.
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October 12, 2015
What if People Thought I Smacked Him?
Hi, posting some pictures from the Korean festival we went to this weekend, and a related Trooper story. I think we tried a little of each food offered, and while some of them looked similar to (American) Chinese food (eggrolls, dumplings) they didn't taste like it. The flavor was very mild, almost bland to my spice-spoiled taste buds, and the filling was more squishy than what you'd find in Chinese. My favorite thing was a pancake-like fried bread that was stuffed with ground peanuts and something sweet, probably honey. Of course I would like the sweet food the best.
While we were there, we saw musical performances of both Korean folk songs and American songs, as well as a fan dance and a really cool martial arts demonstration from the local dojo. I recognized the man who was coordinating the kids in the martial arts segment; he was the one who gave me ice and paper towels for Trooper's split lip back when I tried getting him into tae kwon do. Trooper was a young three-year-old, and doesn't remember it, fortunately.
I hadn't started blogging then, or I would have written about that day. He didn't do well at all in the class, and it came to the point where he would sit and have a screaming fit the entire time. The last time I took him, we were coming back from the bathroom after calming down, and he was looking up at the trophies and displays while walking. Next thing I knew, he somehow tripped on the crack between tiles and fell forward. Back then he still hadn't mastered the art of putting his hands down when he fell (one of the things we had hoped he'd learn in tae kwon do), and he fell directly onto his face. His lip blew up like crazy and there was a hole where a tooth went into it as well as the split from the tile. Blood everywhere, and of course he started screaming again. So the nice dojo manager/teacher got us ice and paper towels. Trooper had already vomited there the week before (favorite super fit trick) so it wasn't the first time our class fees went to cleaning supplies instead of to instruction. I felt so self-conscious as I walked back to our seat to get our shoes and things. What if people thought I smacked him, and that was why he was oozing blood?
Yeah, that was a real tangent, but I'm sure you see how it's related. Overall, it was a nice festival with a surprisingly large turnout considering that it was hosted at a church building and not downtown, and it was especially cool because the proceeds went to charities overseas. We didn't get a lot of pictures, so I stole some nice ones from the facebook page. I hope that's not illegal or something.
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While we were there, we saw musical performances of both Korean folk songs and American songs, as well as a fan dance and a really cool martial arts demonstration from the local dojo. I recognized the man who was coordinating the kids in the martial arts segment; he was the one who gave me ice and paper towels for Trooper's split lip back when I tried getting him into tae kwon do. Trooper was a young three-year-old, and doesn't remember it, fortunately.
I hadn't started blogging then, or I would have written about that day. He didn't do well at all in the class, and it came to the point where he would sit and have a screaming fit the entire time. The last time I took him, we were coming back from the bathroom after calming down, and he was looking up at the trophies and displays while walking. Next thing I knew, he somehow tripped on the crack between tiles and fell forward. Back then he still hadn't mastered the art of putting his hands down when he fell (one of the things we had hoped he'd learn in tae kwon do), and he fell directly onto his face. His lip blew up like crazy and there was a hole where a tooth went into it as well as the split from the tile. Blood everywhere, and of course he started screaming again. So the nice dojo manager/teacher got us ice and paper towels. Trooper had already vomited there the week before (favorite super fit trick) so it wasn't the first time our class fees went to cleaning supplies instead of to instruction. I felt so self-conscious as I walked back to our seat to get our shoes and things. What if people thought I smacked him, and that was why he was oozing blood?
Yeah, that was a real tangent, but I'm sure you see how it's related. Overall, it was a nice festival with a surprisingly large turnout considering that it was hosted at a church building and not downtown, and it was especially cool because the proceeds went to charities overseas. We didn't get a lot of pictures, so I stole some nice ones from the facebook page. I hope that's not illegal or something.
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October 3, 2015
She Just Got Back Up in Front of Everyone in Her Socks...
Last night, as part of my ongoing quest to expand my and Trooper's awareness of and appreciation for various cultures, I took us to a free concert at the local library, where we experienced a combination of jazz, blues, country, and even Michael Jackson tunes from the front row. The band is Pristine Raeign, a fun and talented group for sure.
Trooper was one of three children in the audience, and only a few people were even as young as I am. I'd say most were in their fifties or sixties, but other than a few very elderly women on the back row, everyone was moving to the music and having a great time. I suspect that the afore mentioned elderly women hadn't expected the live drums, amplified base, and improvising keyboardist, and weren't sure if they'd come to the right place. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it either. It was a nice surprise.
Before I left the house, I noted that I was wearing white socks with my black loafers and jeans, and I knew I should change them. But I didn't. I just promised myself that I would be careful about how I sat so that I wouldn't show them to everyone. On my way there I pictured people snubbing their noses at me or rolling their eyes at my poor clothing choice, and I told myself that I didn't really care what they thought. Which was only kind of true because I was careful about how I sat.
All that to say, four or five songs into the first set, the lead singer sat down just eight or ten seats to my left for a breather while the saxophonist played. To my astonishment, she had kicked off her high-healed boots and was sporting some fat, saggy athletic socks below her black dress slacks. That really made my day. I mean really, really made my day. What's even better is that she never put them back on. She just got back up in front of everyone in her socks and sang 'Summertime' and Michael Jackson and other songs I didn't know, and was dancing around with people in the audience. And I thought, good for you, lady. I want to be even more like that than I already am. Look out, world, who knows what might happen tomorrow.
You can check out the band's website and see if any of it interests you. I haven't heard any of their recordings because in addition to dressing inappropriately, I failed to bring any money with me to the concert and all I had were a handful of coins that I had found behind the couch cushions.
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Trooper was one of three children in the audience, and only a few people were even as young as I am. I'd say most were in their fifties or sixties, but other than a few very elderly women on the back row, everyone was moving to the music and having a great time. I suspect that the afore mentioned elderly women hadn't expected the live drums, amplified base, and improvising keyboardist, and weren't sure if they'd come to the right place. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it either. It was a nice surprise.
Before I left the house, I noted that I was wearing white socks with my black loafers and jeans, and I knew I should change them. But I didn't. I just promised myself that I would be careful about how I sat so that I wouldn't show them to everyone. On my way there I pictured people snubbing their noses at me or rolling their eyes at my poor clothing choice, and I told myself that I didn't really care what they thought. Which was only kind of true because I was careful about how I sat.
All that to say, four or five songs into the first set, the lead singer sat down just eight or ten seats to my left for a breather while the saxophonist played. To my astonishment, she had kicked off her high-healed boots and was sporting some fat, saggy athletic socks below her black dress slacks. That really made my day. I mean really, really made my day. What's even better is that she never put them back on. She just got back up in front of everyone in her socks and sang 'Summertime' and Michael Jackson and other songs I didn't know, and was dancing around with people in the audience. And I thought, good for you, lady. I want to be even more like that than I already am. Look out, world, who knows what might happen tomorrow.
You can check out the band's website and see if any of it interests you. I haven't heard any of their recordings because in addition to dressing inappropriately, I failed to bring any money with me to the concert and all I had were a handful of coins that I had found behind the couch cushions.
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September 27, 2015
…I had predicted vomit, not crap. But really, who's keeping track of details?
Yeah, so it's been like a month and a half since I wrote any Trooper stories. Life has been dragging me along, but fortunately I've been scratching down notes on a paper by the fridge so when I got the chance I could put them down in sentence form for all you lovely readers. I think you'll like them.
1-2. Most of my notes are of little things, like the time I opened the fridge to find half a tub of cocoa powder mounded over the fresh apple crisp (turned out to be pretty good once I blew the excess off) and the morning Trooper had strangely green poop because the nurse had mistakenly served him slushy syrup when he was sick instead of Gatorade. This was in no way her fault, since the syrup was stored in Gatorade bottles and it was sitting on the counter near the medical notes and meds. But of course WE knew it was syrup and never thought about what someone else might assume... A lesson for us all.
3. Then there was the day that Jonathan fed the dog six chicken quarters worth of chicken fat and I said, "She's going to be up all night throwing up," and Jonathan said, "No she won't, if it makes her sick it'll happen before we go to bed," and I said, "No it won't, because it always happens in the middle of the night." And I was sure to say, "I told you this would happen," when the nurse woke me to tell me that the dog had pooped all over Trooper's floor.
The good news: Trooper's floor is hardwood and Trooper is a sound night time sleeper.
The bad news: The nurse wasn't kidding, it was ALL OVER the floor and it was INCREDIBLY rank, like, you can't even imagine how rank it was.
More good news: My husband has a hard-working conscience and he got up to clean the worst of it, so all I had to do was the final spray and scrub. Well, that and haul out the plastic bags of rancid intestinal discharge as he filled them.
Oh, and I should note that my 'I told you so' wasn't really valid because I had predicted vomit, not crap. But really, who's keeping track of details? I should also note that this isn't actually a Trooper story since all he did was sit up for a brief moment and then crash at the opposite end of his bed when I told him to go back to sleep.
4. Part of my being 'dragged along by life' has resulted in less attention to Trooper's skin care. There are so many life-threatening details that can't be overlooked that sometimes oil can seem relatively inane, but I knew it had gone too far when one day during school Trooper pointed to his leg and said, "Look, Mom, a giraffe!" And sure enough, there were some white scratchy looking marks that looked very much like a giraffe's legs, body, and extended neck.
5. Then there was just last week when I took Trooper to a Bridal Shower Pounding (not a good idea, I know, but it was that or not go at all), where I might or might not have brought the bride's kitchen products in a Walmart bag instead of a gift bag. It was groceries, who knew it was supposed to be in a gift bag? Hypothetically speaking, I mean. Anyway, Trooper kept licking my arm to get my attention, and I kept making him stand behind my chair so he wouldn't be so distracting. Then--and here's the kicker--he heard me refer to my soup as 'thicker' than the other soup. I guess this was a new word for him, at least in that context, and he got overly excited about it. He started saying (loudly) "It's ficker, it's ficker!". Only the 'i' didn't sound like an 'i', if you know what I mean.
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1-2. Most of my notes are of little things, like the time I opened the fridge to find half a tub of cocoa powder mounded over the fresh apple crisp (turned out to be pretty good once I blew the excess off) and the morning Trooper had strangely green poop because the nurse had mistakenly served him slushy syrup when he was sick instead of Gatorade. This was in no way her fault, since the syrup was stored in Gatorade bottles and it was sitting on the counter near the medical notes and meds. But of course WE knew it was syrup and never thought about what someone else might assume... A lesson for us all.
3. Then there was the day that Jonathan fed the dog six chicken quarters worth of chicken fat and I said, "She's going to be up all night throwing up," and Jonathan said, "No she won't, if it makes her sick it'll happen before we go to bed," and I said, "No it won't, because it always happens in the middle of the night." And I was sure to say, "I told you this would happen," when the nurse woke me to tell me that the dog had pooped all over Trooper's floor.
The good news: Trooper's floor is hardwood and Trooper is a sound night time sleeper.
The bad news: The nurse wasn't kidding, it was ALL OVER the floor and it was INCREDIBLY rank, like, you can't even imagine how rank it was.
More good news: My husband has a hard-working conscience and he got up to clean the worst of it, so all I had to do was the final spray and scrub. Well, that and haul out the plastic bags of rancid intestinal discharge as he filled them.
Oh, and I should note that my 'I told you so' wasn't really valid because I had predicted vomit, not crap. But really, who's keeping track of details? I should also note that this isn't actually a Trooper story since all he did was sit up for a brief moment and then crash at the opposite end of his bed when I told him to go back to sleep.
4. Part of my being 'dragged along by life' has resulted in less attention to Trooper's skin care. There are so many life-threatening details that can't be overlooked that sometimes oil can seem relatively inane, but I knew it had gone too far when one day during school Trooper pointed to his leg and said, "Look, Mom, a giraffe!" And sure enough, there were some white scratchy looking marks that looked very much like a giraffe's legs, body, and extended neck.
5. Then there was just last week when I took Trooper to a Bridal Shower Pounding (not a good idea, I know, but it was that or not go at all), where I might or might not have brought the bride's kitchen products in a Walmart bag instead of a gift bag. It was groceries, who knew it was supposed to be in a gift bag? Hypothetically speaking, I mean. Anyway, Trooper kept licking my arm to get my attention, and I kept making him stand behind my chair so he wouldn't be so distracting. Then--and here's the kicker--he heard me refer to my soup as 'thicker' than the other soup. I guess this was a new word for him, at least in that context, and he got overly excited about it. He started saying (loudly) "It's ficker, it's ficker!". Only the 'i' didn't sound like an 'i', if you know what I mean.
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