Beauty is in the eye of the gambler, I mean, the beholder

Hello, it's your friendly chronicler of all things mundane in my life and the lives of my family and friends. Mundane is a subjective, well, . . . subject. What one considers mundane, another considers pleasant, or fulfilling. It's that old "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" expression. Well, I happen to be the "beholder" on this here blog and therefore your reading pleasure is totally at the whim and fancy of yours truly. While the "beholder" is a position of envy, there is of course what's called in the industry, the down side. The down side of it is that I'm often mistaken for the "gambler": a well known professional card shark, who started out his career on a train as an amateur, until he was taught the idiosyncrasies of poker by an apparently broke, nicotine addicted, alcoholic mentor, of which he applies to all life's endeavors and challenges.



I especially draw this comparison when seen in my full costume as Mr. Welch in the play It's a Wonderful Life where I wear what can best be described as a cross between a possum and raccoon skin in full winter thickness. I always seem to get stuck wearing a bad wig in these productions. Anyway, here's the Mr. Welch

as seen in Frank Capra's holiday film classic which you may get the chance to view this holiday season. As you can see, he looks normal and isn't at all afflicted with Kenny Rogers' hair, or Jay Leno hair,

or dead marsupial hair!

 It's the scene where Mr. Welch recognizes the protagonist's name and then proceeds to hand out a beat down!

"And the next time you talk to my wife that way, you'll get worse!"

You should have known better Jimmy Stewart. Yes, I'm in the only scene with fight choreography.

As Sam Wainwright I use my natural hair and am somewhat dressed up in slacks, tie and jacket. I make a couple of key phone calls from my setting in New York and France, found in the unoccupied balcony on stage left (that's the actor's left hand side, as they face the audience). Below, is Sam Wainwright's scene helping to cement the protagonist's (James Stewart as George Bailey) love to Mary Hatch (played by Donna Reed).

We had a good opening night. It was a lot of fun and we did it really well, we thought. During one particularly quiet scene where George Bailey is "having a moment", the only ornament not secured by wire tie on the Christmas tree on stage worked loose and plunk, plunk, plunked its way down about 10 steps. Saturday, we had a good night again, and the choreographed punch made a nice slap sound and the other actor's fall was believable.

Sunday's matinee was a little sloppy. I felt I maintained energy and delivered my lines well, but I know some actors ( nowadays to be politically correct, there are actors and female actors, the reasoning is there are no doctoresses, so there should not be actresses) were dropping some lines and one actress missed her only cameo on stage; it was the scene which elicited the biggest laughs both Friday and Saturday. She missed it. She blamed it on the tech guys not letting her know. However, I'm of the philosophy that each actor is responsible for being on that stage for their cue come hell or high water! I think her occupation with reading something on her laptop in the green room had a lot to do with it.

Rick, Sharon, and Luke attended the Sunday matinée performance, for which I was thankful. We immediately had a production notes meeting afterward and was unable to talk with them to find out what they liked/disliked. Sharon told Mare I did a good job and she wondered why I wasn't awarded a lead role. Well, Sharon, you may not remember, but I did audition for George Bailey, THE lead role. I think I would have done nearly as well as the seasoned actor who portrayed him, and I openly hoped I would win it. I secretly was relieved when I did not win it, because it's a big role. I'll work my way up.

One last thing about the play, then I'll give it a rest for this post. The lead role, the guy portraying George Bailey, he's the father of the female lead's boyfriend. Did you catch that? The female lead role of Mary Bailey, who kisses George several times throughout the production; she is 19, maybe 20, and is dating the son of the guy playing George! It's a little bit awkward. Of course, as a theater person (cue the snobbish snort) I didn't think much of it, because it's ACTING! I was able to get over it. I gather that some in the audience were not able to "get over it", and for them this knowledge brought the play down. Unfortunate.

Christmas will be upon us. Be of good cheer! Yours truly,
"The Beholder"


Thankfully, we have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off without rehearsal or performance. Thursday night is rehearsal, then three performances over the weekend.

"Don't toss us away"- Patty Loveless

Things are beginning to look like the yuletide season around here. A couple of weeks ago, around Thanksgiving, the city crew spent a Saturday in pairs with a few bucket trucks installing the light pole decorations.

They resemble the ones my hometown of Humboldt decorated with when I was growing up, and likely Humboldt continues to use these.  You've seen them: two dimensional wire silhouettes of a couple familiar shapes associated with Christmas. A candle and a Christmas tree are the two I clearly remember. Around the wire frame is wrapped some festive colored industrial strength, sparkled "tinsel", for a lack of a more accurate word, and matching lit bulbs.. They are not elaborate. They're built to last through some tough Kansas Holiday seasons. 

These kinds of decorations hold a keen sense of nostalgia for me. Similar to an angel or star which adorns a family Christmas tree each year, and which every family member agrees is gaudy and out of date; these humble Holiday decorations will be greatly missed when they are finally replaced and some little piece of the Holiday spirit of humble beginnings, like those of the first Nativity, is lost. 

Of course, I'm somewhat of a sentimentalist. However, replacing beloved ornaments for aesthetic reasons i.e. because they're ugly and old, just kind of hurts my feelings. It seems I've always had this weakness: projecting feelings into inanimate objects which I've possessed. When I was a child, I'd feel guilty about not playing with some of my older, more battered toys, or the toys I'd played with when I was younger and more babyish. I'd get that lump in my throat feeling what I thought must have been their feelings of not being wanted anymore. I'd also feel guilty about being a younger, more innocent person back when I gave that toy a lot of attention, and now, later, my tastes demanded less innocence and more flash.

It's a childish thing to do perhaps, to project feelings onto things which don't have feelings: old, disused toys; battered and out of date decorations; threadbare and worn jeans, shirts, and boots. It's likely every bit as childish to hang onto these sentimental feelings of nostalgia for familiar items from our past, and to maintain an affinity for things of the past in general. After all, the only thing that doesn't change is change itself. Eventually, everything around you will become obsolete or broken, or already has.

People become obsolete and broken, too. We eventually will become unable to contribute anything of value or use to our loved ones and our country. We become old and ugly. All that will remain, we hope, is for people to maintain a childish devotion to the way things once were; how each of us used to be on our best days according to someone else's individual  perceptions and experiences with us. This will be the value we have for others. We are different from toys, decorations, clothing, and furniture, of course. We have feelings. I want to treat people like the irreplaceable, invaluable beings they are; not like replaceable Christmas decorations.

No doubt when Humboldt and Ottawa replace these old fashioned Holiday decorations they just won't be the same for some of us. The new ones will be much better in every way, that will be the difference. But, that doesn't mean the old ones don't 't have any value. They were good enough for us "back then", when we were younger, and more innocent. I'll like the new Christmas decorations, and I'll pine for the old ones. This Holiday season, let's all be sure we don't disregard the people in our lives who were once important to us, "back then". Let's show them they're far more important than "things", and let's spend our most valuable asset on them: our time. Spend time with those people. They're more than decorations.

Thank you

Well, it's back to the "old grind". Thanksgiving break is over and we're all back at our various jobs and performing our various obligations and displaying various attitudes and various emotions about said duties and schedules. It simply can't be helped.

The weather was trying its best to upstage the Thanksgiving Holiday last week. When we left mid-morning from here in north east Kansas, the sky was wet and very foggy. Temperatures burrowed down in the mid thirties. When we stepped out of the car in central Oklahoma, the temperature had rocketed to a record breaking high of 80 degrees! We were dressed for thirty degree weather in pants, sweaters, etc. Overnight the temperature plunged back down enough so that rain formed into icicles on the trees and roof edge.

My sis is the premiere host and went to great lengths to provide comfort and welcome to all of us, her guests. My family was privileged to stay in her son Tuker's room (thank you Tuk!). Jack slept in the top bunk of the bunk bed with me and thought that was the carnival worker's tattoo! (An awkward idiom, I know, but was trying to find a modern equivalent of the expression: "the cat's meow). He and Tuk played and played with Tuk's toys (again, thanks Tuk!) and they even let Leo pal around with them most of the time, which Leo thought was the barbers' scissors! (again, a failed attempt at renewing/ rejuvenating the idiom "the cat's meow")

Macy schooled me in basketball. A 35 year old man; reasonably in shape, moderately athletic; "taken to town" by a 12 year old girl. Pathetic. This is a visual representation of what I felt like.

Kali, the younger sister, teamed up with Macy to "hand out the beat downs" on the ole' half court to the rest of the cousins and uncles who dared entered their "pain school". Notice, none of the aunts signed off on a shipment of hurt and humiliation, just cousins and their spouses.

Of course there was food. Oh, the food. Like our own private Sirloin Stockade of culinary delights. Smoked turkey and smoked brisket; salads and beans and desserts oh my! Snacks and drinks and goodies, too.

I interacted (i.e. joked and ate) with all the usual suspects. They made the lengthy trip down from Kansas. I know we were all glad to be together, and my sis was glad they were able to make it. I was leading a game of Phase 10, when we took what came to be a permanent break. We played Apples to Apples, a fun, easy game. All in all, a wonderful fulfilling Holiday which makes us thankful for all we have.

Dusty has built himself something to be very proud of. His house was beautiful and functional, two of my favorite things. I like the wide open spaces he's designed into it, and the outdoorsy theme complemented it well. The 1st floor  affords a magnificent view overlooking the south pasture which falls away from the house, and the surrounding lay of the land. I'm told Dusty completed 90 percent of the work and he did a great job. The two of them together, Clarie and Dusty, work very hard and they are two intelligent, motivated individuals capable of accomplishing whatever they want. They've got a great family. They are giving and modest. I'm proud of them. They are my family.

Eager anticipation

Thanksgiving is less than one week away! My family is excited to be invited to my sister's in Oklahoma. We plan to stay a couple days and we're looking forward to some holiday memory making! I might even dig around in my closet to find some "seasonal apparel" like this one:

That would be stylish, I know, but I don't know if I can pull it off as well as this guy does. 

After a little bit of thinking, we've decided to go ahead and remove Jack from the Baldwin City Children's Choir. We decided it was just a little advanced for him and he clearly had grown to dislike it. We've noticed he already has made up his mind that he won't try another one. We hope he'll overcome this aversion and in the future be able to join in a choir a little more suited to his age. We can't forget that Jack had about two months or so of attending these meetings and rehearsals, so that's a good experience in and of itself. In a three year old's perspective, two months of weekly rehearsals is a long time!

Wasn't I just more than a little annoyed when I went to drain the tub this morning after my bath (yes, I still have yet to install everything necessary for the use of the shower, so sue me!) and it drained very slowly. Not only that it didn't sound the same. Instead of the familiar gurgle I've grown accustomed to hearing from the four inch vent pipe in the corner, I heard the toilet bubbling. The bath drain was venting up through the toilet. I don't know exactly what that means except my plumbing is not "breathing" correctly. This caused no small amount of frustration on my part, case in point this generic "expression of frustration" I found on google images:

We've experienced this problem before in the past and it required us to have the plumber come out and run the "snake" (sorry mom, it's this thing the plumber is using)

not one of these you can see by clicking on these words.
I expect we'll have to pay to have this done yet again. It's nearly a semi annual event. I guess I thought it would improve once I re-plumbed the bathroom, but I guess I should have known it's further out where the tree roots grow that's causing it.


Tomorrow I'm driving to Overland Park to attend the KanBikeWalk annual meeting and participate in the pre-meeting ride with "other interested individuals". I've not much idea what to expect. I hope to have an enjoyable ride with like-minded individuals, learn something from the meeting, hopefully I'll get to network a little bit with people in the industry. I'm interested in being an advocate for cycling. I think it's a good thing for the U.S. because of the health benefits, for one. If you haven't noticed the U.S. has alot of "trunk space", i.e.:

I'd like to see more education for vehicle drivers and cyclists alike apprising each group of the rights and responsibilities of sharing the road with bikes. I also like the idea of creating a nationwide network of bicycle routes. There's more, but I don't need to go political on anyone here. I try not to make riding my bike political, but rather just make it about enjoying the experience and making it safe so I won't get ran over!
 Anyway it should be a good experience I'm looking forward to.

The boys are both good and are a joy to be around. Leo is really finding his personality. I can't wait for him to play with his cousins down there in Ok. Jack is doing better sleeping all night in his own bed. He's taken to waking several times in the night and having me tuck him back in until I get up for the day when he moves into my spot in our bed. I think he just doesn't know when morning is and when I get up and he just comes in to see if I'm out of bed yet so he can take my spot. We're working on it and we'll get it worked out.

I hope everything with you is well and we pray blessings on all of you our friends and all our enemies as well.

I stayed pretty well busy this weekend, which is both good and bad news for Mare. The good news being that I wasn't there getting in her hair and adding to the mess and getting the boys into trouble. The bad news was that I wasn't there to give her a break from the boys and she had to field all their problems on her own.

Friday night I did my two speaking roles in the high school's musical production of  Little Shop of Horrors. Talk about a great musical, this one is it. There are so many good songs in it. That gal in the movie version who plays Audrey opposite Rick Moranis as Seymour gets me all choked up with their duet of "Suddenly Seymour". I left when my roles were over and went home to watch The Hurt Locker with Mare. It was pretty good. It didn't have much  memorable dialogue. I think it tried to have some memorable dialogue, but I don't remember any of it.

As far as war movies go, I know Hollywood succeeds in glamorizing war, even among their attempts at making it look terrible. I've never been to war. I'm glad for it. I've read some accounts of people who have and who have had time to think about some of the things they were commanded to do. Our armed forces are full of people. People are flawed. Innocent people get hurt and killed in war. Soldiers don't always limit their combative actions to other soldiers. Sometimes innocent people are recruited to get involved in war. Innocent children die in war and it's horrible to live with.

My old friend from high school, Matt Stange stopped by on Friday night right in the middle of the movie, along with his big brother Scott Barnhart. We were expecting him. Matt lives in Colorado now, out in Crested Butte. Scott had picked him up from the airport in K.C. and they'd attended the K.U. game in Lawrence before stopping by the house. Matt looks like he's from Colorado: he's got long hair and looks "rugged". Scott looked about the same and they're two birds of a feather. They didn't stay long, but we had a few laughs and then they went on.

I spent Saturday morning judging debate. Went home and ate lunch. Then, went to play practice for It's a Wonderful Life. Went home and ate supper. Then, went to perform my two speaking roles again in Lil' Shop, and stayed for the entire performance.

Sunday I had one more performance to give for the musical. I had fixed breakfast and had a good day with the family. I talked to my grandma Irene on the phone. It was a good weekend.

Well, what're ya' gonna do?

Today it looks just about like what we expect November to look like. It's become colder, more gray, and wet. I'm anticipating needing to break out the rain suit in the near future for the bike ride to and from school. The boys' days of playing outside may be hampered by a bit. That is, unless mom Broyles allows them a little more freedom in the "getting dirty" department.

Teaching school is still teaching school. Play rehearsal has begun for It's a Wonderful Life. We're planning our trip to Ada, Ok. to see my big sister's family for the Thanksgiving holiday. She's having her family from Kansas down to her new house and WE WERE INVITED! Miracles do happen. Just kidding. Of course we were invited. And we are genuinely thrilled to be going. We haven't been down to see them in years. Plus they have a brand new house to show off and break-in. We wouldn't miss it.

Jack has been attending the Baldwin City Childrens' Choir in, where else, Baldwin City, Kansas. However, he hasn't been enjoying it. He's the youngest student and the moves and expectations are advanced for even Jack's advanced stage. He's been assigned another older boy to drag him around where he's supposed to be and that doesn't make either of them happy. Lately, he's been quite against the idea of attending. Marian and I will think about whether to continue or not. We're not quitters, but Jack didn't choose to be involved in this, we did. We definitely don't wish for this to cause a lasting negative impression upon him. We're evaluating if we wish for him to continue, and why.

I'm performing a "read only" part in the upcoming school musical this weekend for three separate performances. I'll be "the voice" which is to sound "not unlike God's". I'll also be the voice of an interviewer on a radio. It's for The Little Shop of Horrors. It should be good. The set looks good.  It's become a bit of a tradition for me to make a cameo appearance in the fall school musical. I enjoy it.

Leo is displaying such a playful personality and just talk, talk, talking. Not alot of what he says we understand, but it won't be long until we do. The other day he was jumping up off both feet and landing square on his bottom. It looked like it would hurt. It would definitely hurt an adult, but it just made him roll with laughter, and Jack too. He kept it up as long as Jack laughed at him. Leo is starting to sing, too. Mare even mentioned having Leo's hair cut! Can you believe it?

Leo follows Jack around just like a little brother. They're really pretty good friends. They have their moments, afterall, they are brothers. We're proud of Jack for sleeping all night in his bed for at least two nights in order to be rewarded with chocolate milk in the morning. Don't misunderstand, Jack has been sleeping alone in his bed for, gosh this is probably inaccurate, but it seems like for close to a year. Lately, though, he's taken to rising several times during the night to come get me to tuck him back in. We were trying to get him to return to that original pattern.

Our boys are precious of course. We love them. We have a good family and we're blessed.

One last thought. It's chili weather, so go home and make some chili.

cb

Does this mean we'll pay later?

I presume everyone who may happen upon this blog and read it experienced the same golden, lovely weather as we did here in northeast Kansas. The mornings were clear and cold and gradually warmed up to an ideal 69-70 degrees. The sunlight was fantastic and it lit up all the gorgeous leaves still on trees; reflected off each water surface; and made the sky just this indescribably beautiful shade of wispy blue. A gentle breeze from the south kept a person from overheating and fall smells floated to a person's nose on it from unknown sources.

We tried to take advantage of the beautiful weather as much as we could. Saturday, I walked in the Ottawa Veteran's Day Parade on behalf of Franklin County United Way. I walked in front of our members and the participants in the member agencies, helping to hold the FCUW banner. We waited quite a bit longer on the side street to enter the parade than we actually spent walking in the parade. Mare said it was a good one.

She and the boys went to the parade along with her dad, mom, and brother. They all attended the parade and then we retired back to the house to eat frozen pizzas. They stayed for a bit of the afternoon, then they left. We had some good conversations and company. Mare had rearranged the living room, so it was set up differently and gave a good open floor place.

After they left and the boys were bathed and put to bed, we watched a movie.Jack woke us several times in the night. He's been in this habit lately. He wakes up and doesn't want to go on back to sleep. Instead, he comes and opens up our bedroom door and just stands there, until I escort him back to tuck him in. It makes for three grumpy, tired people in our house: Jack, Mare, and me!We're trying a few different things to get him to sleep through the night.

Sunday, I fixed breakfast and then spent about an hour running the mower over the bed of leaves in our yard. It was overdue for a mowing and the mower acted as a mulcher of sorts. It did well enough to make the yard look better.

Afterward, I made a couple repairs to Mare's Mossberg bicycle. We, then went for a short ride directly into the wind. After we turned around and were virtually pushed back by the strong wind, we stopped by our friends' house for a bit. We left there just as dusk was creeping over the land.

We're trying to take advantage of these last nice days, because very soon they'll be gone and replaced with icy and bitter cold.

We have great kids and we're truly blessed with good family. We love you.

The official, un-official end of fall

Yes, this last Sunday marked the Halloween holiday: the official, un-official end of the fall season. Fall is now obligated to take a step back and let Winter begin its warm-up (a decidedly poor choice of words, accuracy wise, for an activity for Winter to engage in to prepare for its big show). Now the pretty leaves on the trees have no remaining reason to stay on the tree. Very soon you can expect them to do the equivalent of a leaf hanging "base jump" down from the branches to join the others of their kind in a sort of homage to the Million Man March, only leaf style.

Today, being the first day of November in the year of our Lord 2010, I noticed the sun had taken a day off and let the clouds run the show for a change. The red stuff (possibly hummingbird food) in the thingy which indicates the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, hovered right around the high fifties today and more or less heralded (yes thermometers are old school that way, they like to herald things like "It's now officially 57 degrees Fahrenheit on this day, the first day of November in the year of our Lord two thousand and ten Anno Domini, according to the Greenwich Mean Time of blah, blah, blah") that Fall had been bum rushed out of the way so that Fall's big bully brother, Winter, could show up, take Fall's football away from Fall and chase Fall away while Winter and all Winter's bigger, bully friends play their own game and not let pesky, cute little Fall play with them!This perhaps unfortunate turn of events notwithstanding, it was nevertheless a glorious weekend for Halloween.

Beginning with Thursday night (the weekend's official, un-official beginning) I worked my last evening on the chain crew for the varsity OHS Cyclones football team for the 2010 season. I operated the down box and had a pretty flawless game, if I do say so myself. This, despite the visitor's sideline official's (the guy in the stripes from whom I take my cues) best attempts to befuddle me with what he called his "Three simple rules: wait for my signal; wait for my signal; wait for my signal!" Several instances in the game we were clearly observing his second rule (or was it his first or third rule?) and he apparently "forgot to signal; forgot to signal; forgot to signal!" This caused a few awkward instances where we were late to arrive at the line of scrimmage and the other officials were yelling at him to get his chain crew together, and he was more or less yelling at us to get our chain crew together. Despite these minor glitches and a valiant effort on the Cyclones' part, alas their season ended with a loss one touchdown and a two point conversion away from a tie.

The Cyclones fared better than a regionally local high school boy who died that same Thursday night as a result of the injuries he received from playing football. I can't think of a more lousy thing to die for than a stupid game of football. I can tell you after moving along up and down the visitors' sidelines of these varsity football games, and sitting behind the home team crowds of our varsity, junior varsity, and freshman teams, (and even junior high a couple of times) there's few things I find more distasteful and angering than listening to some of these parents live vicariously through their sons' performances on the football field. The ugliness that comes out of these peoples' mouths and the priority they place on that game is enough to make me foster a profound dislike for the game as it appears in an organized manner under the banner of high school athletics. Some people in the United States would label me a communist for this next statement, but Mare and I plan to promote baseball, soccer, track and field, chess, debate, forensics, choir, band, Scrabble, Monopoly; just about anything over football. My knees have not been 100% right since my days of playing high school football. If Jack and Leo wish to play football we will not hesitate to support them, but we have a feeling their physique and brains will lend themselves better to success in these other pursuits.

Friday, the official, official start of the weekend, ended with a sigh. I rode back to town Friday evening from six to eight o'clock, after supper, to audition for the ACT Ottawa production of It's A Wonderful Life. I purposefully left the line labeled "role desired/trying out for:" blank, because I'm a team player and I'll fill whatever role they need. Secretly, in my heart of hearts I wished for (and dreaded)  to be cast as George Bailey, the lead role. It would have been a big deal for me to play that role. Alas, I was informed by the director they have another actor in mind for the lead role and I was to play George Bailey's competitor for Mary's affections, most likely.

Saturday, we all ate breakfast together and rode our bikes downtown to the Ottawa downtown business trick or treat parade. Quite a number of kids and parents showed up to converge on the downtown area and beg for sugary snacks; we were right in there with the thick of them. Jack wore his elephant costume and Leo wore his puppy dog costume (formerly Jack's; formerly Tuker's). I dressed as a middle aged English teacher and Mare dressed as my wife. People kept looking at our clothes and saying, "Thrift store! Keeping it real!" We just played along with it. At close to halfway through the appointed trick or treat time, Marian ditched us boys in order to go hang with the girls of Baldwin City Children's Choir in order to help distribute helium filled balloons bearing their logo, and to make rude "little people" comments in their funny helium voices. The boys and I stopped in the sunny Franklin county square in order to sample some of their booty, then made our way on down to city park to seek out the second most powerful kids' drug after sugar: adrenaline.

Mare met up with us after a bit and we stopped at sunny Franklin County courthouse square again, this time to enjoy a round of hot dogs being peddled by my neighbor Scott, who also dressed for the Halloween occasion as a whoopie-cushion.

After the dogs were down, we pedaled back home and the boys went down for a nap and I did too, for a short one, before returning back downtown for the ACT Ottawa year end awards show. I received a participation certificate for my roles as Judge Taylor and Nathan Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird; I also received a Certificate of Appreciation for my help with set construction on Star Spangled Girl. We watched a slide show of photos from the 2009-2010 season and I caught up a little with some people. I ate some popcorn and punch and enjoyed myself for an hour or so before retuning home again.

At close to 3:45 we left for Wellsville. Now, it's not usually like us to go to Wellsville. We just don't do that willy-nilly. We had a plan. At four o'clock Wellsville would be sponsoring a costume contest and, while we were there, Mare had arranged to distribute more balloons with her group. As it turns out, we weren't late (miracles occur in the strangest of places) and Leo won second prize in his age group for his costume. But, geeze, c'mon, Leo is so cute he could have won it dressed as Freddy Kruger, or Jason Vorhees, or that Leprechaun guy who's so surly. Jack and Leo had a ball seeing all the kids and adults dressed in costume, I enjoyed more comments about my wisdom of shopping for a costume at Goodwill, even though I was just dressed as me, and Marian, of course, enjoyed insulting people in a high pitched "little-people" helium voice which people just think is funny and never stop laughing long enough to listen to the deprecating comments she's making toward them (jk).

Saturday night, safely snug at home, and away from the angry hands of insulted Wellsvillians who felt betrayed at the thought of the son of an Ottawa mom who's there on behalf of a Baldwin City Children's Choir winning a costume contest in Wellsville, we watched most of a lousy Stephen King movie from the 80's and generally mentally prepared for Sunday.

Sunday, as it turns out, is the un-recognized, official beginning of the week. It's a great day to get up with your sons and make egg, cheese, and bacon biscuits. It's an even better day to eat those biscuits with strawberry preserves and mama. After we cleaned up the kitchen I switched the bike trailer to my bike and me and the boys pedaled to Wal-Mart on the south end of town and got enough supplies to fill my two collapsible, metal wire baskets. On the way back we found a pumpkin in the ditch and it fit into the trailer as well. Mare's mom was visiting when we arrived back home. We were expecting her, of course. They baked pumpkin seeds, carved pumpkins, and colored pictures. Then we had lunch and I had to take off after we put the boys down for a nap in order to go to a read through for the script. It was there, at the script read through, that I began to question my judgement of not including a bath on my list of activities I had already completed; I began to reek! I was so embarrassed, I just knew everyone could smell me, cause I could sure smell myself. And you know how badly a person can get to smelling, especially after riding their bike to Wal-Mart on the opposite end of town without a bath. As soon as I got home I immediately took a bath.

Interestingly enough, or not, despite being told I would not be playing the role of George Bailey, the lead role, that's primarily what I spent the two hours reading for at the call backs on Sunday. I sang a duet with no less than four potential Mary Baileys, and acted confused about the extreme change which had come over Violet's lifestyle when it was shown what life would be like if George Bailey wasn't born, with no less than four girls. Also quite funny, I was warned early on George's role would require a tender, affectionate kiss to the lead lady role no less than six times, and would I and Marian be okay with that? Sure, we were okay with that, we've seen the movie and know it's family friendly. Well, one of the girls trying out for the lead lady role is a former student of mine, just graduated last year. They asked her if she'd be comfortable kissing ME, Mr. Broyles, if she got the role as Mary Bailey, and she said NO! Can you imagine that poor girl's embarrassment had she done it?

Back at home Sunday night we lit the carved Jack-o-lanterns and Mare took the boys around to the four corner houses to trick or treat. We then sat on our front porch and watched Jack and Leo play in the front yard in their costumes and let Jack hand out fruit snacks o the occasional visitor. It had a been a pretty nice end to a busy weekend.

Monday came and it was the official, official start of the work week. Not much to be said there. I'm watching the ACT Ottawa page for the cast list.

God bless you all. God bless my enemies. We are rich. We are blessed.
cb

What a weekend!

I've got a lot to cover, so hold on!

First of all, earlier last week, when I mentioned I'd have the Friday off from teaching, Mare grew excited and expressed to me how the boys and I would need to get out of the house and give her some peace for a couple days. So, I took her words to heart and let my mom know early on the boys and I would be going down to Humboldt to visit them for the afternoon.

That Thursday night I was at school until 7:30 or so for parent teacher conferences, and we all went to bed early so we could make the most of the day.

On Friday I got up as usual and made biscuits for the family. After we got everyone cleaned up and our teeth brushed, Jack, Leo, and I set out in the red family car. Our first stop was at The Palace where Jack and I got our hairs cut. In addition to the standard joke my dad and grandpa usually made when asked "Did you get your haircut?"; to which they (and now me, because I am, afterall, my father's son) I reply, "I got them all cut!"; as I said, in addition to that old standby I've added this one (which, as far as I know, I've created all by myself): when the barber got me in his chair and asked, "Okay, what do you want to do here?" meaning, direct me with what to do to style your hair; my new reply is "Well, just make it look exactly the same as this, only three months ago."

I thought it was clever.

It had been a number of months since I'd had a hair cut and as one student pointed out it was "looking kind of wavy." It reminded me of the cartoon character Captain Caveman, who could pull items from out of his body hair when the occasion presented itself. It was a real hair helmet. But, it's been tamed now.

We arrived in Humboldt just in time to go to lunch with mom and dad. Coincidence? I think not. I tried the pork chile dinner at Estralita's. It was shredded pork in chile sauce served with refried beans and refried rice, salad and hot flour tortillas. Well, it wasn't offensive, but it wasn't particularly savory either. It seemed to lack seasoning. It was filling.

Jack ate two full grown adult tacos and quite a bit of chips and melted cheese. Leo sat on dad's lap and ate some of his chicken enchiladas and chips and cheese. Estralitas was painted up nicely and festively. They had loud classic rock pumping out over the loud speakers. I don't know if it's good or bad, but that same painting of the seven arch bridge was on the wall.

From there, we retired to mom and dad's house for conversation, advice, coffee, and amusing anecdotes. Of course the boys were quite entertaining and the weather was pleasant.

We returned to Ottawa by supper time and cleaned the boys up and put them to bed and tried to get to bed at an early time.

Saturday morning we ate a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and toast and again got the boys ready for a big adventure. We packed up the bicycle trailer with necessary items and I fitted the Wee-Ride on the front of the bicycle and we headed out about 10:30 or so.We pedaled south of town to the Ottawa Municipal Airport and enjoyed an extended lunch picnic in an adjacent lawn. From there we pedaled on East to Rantoul, Kansas. There we had a big time playing with neighbor kids at the Rantoul City Park. That's where Jack saw his first three leg dog. That three legged dog fetched a stick like no other! We ate more of our snacks and left there for home. We took the Flint Hills Nature Trail home to Ottawa and arrived home just in time for supper again. I have a knack for arriving at meal time.
Click on these highlighted words to see a map of our route

On Sunday I got the boys around early again and I took them to church for the second Sunday in a row. I know, I know, what a dad, huh. Anyway we rode the bike again, because we just didn't quite get enough of it the day before. We attended the First Christian Church of Disciples of Christ. It's okay. I don't know if my "church search" is over. I'll probably try out some others.

Mare had a nice little outdoor fire prepared for us when we arrived home from church. We cooked our hotdogs out on the fire and laid on the tarp and blankets in the yard and listened to the first half of the Chiefs game. The weather was ideal. Then, we had a big, pleasant surprise when my grandma Irene came to visit! It was awesome for her to hop in her car and come visit. We had a great time talking out on the porch and since she's my dad's mom, we enjoyed an afternoon of conversation, advice, coffee, and amusing anecdotes. Just before she left we ate a slice of chocolate pudding pie. We were very glad she came to visit.

We scrubbed the boys and sent them to bed because I'd worn them out. Mare and I watched The Cove before we went to bed. It's a documentary about the slaughter of dolphins. It's pretty disturbing.

Anyway, long story short, I had a great weekend with my family and lovely weather doing what I love.

We're blessed, we pray blessings on you.

I know this was kind of terse and not that entertaining. Sorry. I'll try to take my time next time and make it much more entertaining for you.

What a gal!

My sister sent me this picture of her daughter Kali holding her third place victory trophy after the conclusion of a softball tournament. She's a definite winner and Mare and I are so very proud of her. Kali puts in the time and effort to be a winner while inferior girls of her age waste their time and accomplish nothing. Way to go Kali!

There's a few other clues pointing to the winning nature of Kali which are evident from the photo: a winning, pretty smile; all business hair, pulled back for speed and aerodynamics; hydrating orange colored beverage for the winning edge; efficient, practical sleeves cut off serve a twofold purpose: to allow for flexibility and movement and secondly to accentuate the biceps and intimidate the opponents essentially scaring them into submission with a show of dominance, which means she wins the victory before she even walks onto the field; a no smoking sign behind her which means she's way too smart to consider that disgusting and destructive bad habit; notice she's outside of the "cage" which means no force can defeat her, they can only hope to contain her; and most impressive of all . . . her will power to literally turn the world on its side!

We are very proud of you. Your hard work and effort have paid off, and will continue to do so as you make YOUR OWN way in the world. We love you Kali.

Round it up to a decade

Today marks the ninth year of marriage for Marian and I. That's the longest I've stuck to doing anything in my life. Weather on October 13 this year easily reminded me of why we chose this month for our wedding and future anniversaries: it's gorgeous! The sun beamed and a breeze swirled. Leaves changed color and fell from their branches, then curled on still lush green grass. It's a great month in which to get married.

Marriage has been easy for us. We're best friends and decided beforehand divorce would never be an option. That's not to say we don't have our moments. Sorry to burst your bubble for all of you out there I know were under the impression Marian and I could do no wrong- make that all of you under the impression Marian could do no wrong- actually she can do no wrong, but I certainly make up for the both of us. Living with me and being married to me must be such a joy (insert sarcastic cough here).

Without titillating you with all the details of the hardships which go along with being contractually bound to me, I'll just say I don't make it easy. I try to make it easy. Sometimes I don't make it easy for her, though. She's the best wife in the world. She must be the best wife in the world to stay married to me. I couldn't live without her. I know that's hyperbole, but I feel as if I couldn't live without her I love her so much. I'm certain I don't show it in enough ways and am usually caught up in my own selfish desires and aims. She deserves to be placed on a pedestal. It is one of my goals to make her feel placed on a pedestal.

I love you Marian. I'm looking forward to our best years yet.

Boys' night in; girls' night out

This past Saturday night Marian had a rare opportunity to join a couple of her friends for a "girls' night out". I encouraged her to go and try to enjoy herself as she rarely gets any time off away from the boys and with adult friends both. They'd made plans to go to the city to attend a free concert of some kind (probably some of that rock and roll music the young ones like so much these days) and a sleepover at one of the girls' houses. She was scheduled to leave our house in the afternoon to meet the first of her friends in Lawrence and go from there.

The boys and I ate a big breakfast and took our baths in the "functional" bathroom we have (it is functional, but lacks minor cosmetics like flooring, lighting, mirrors, sink, a door etc). I hooked up the bike trailer to my trusty 70's model Takara 3speed, and attached the Weeride front baby seat to the crossbar. The canteen was filled with high quality City of Ottawa tap water from the kitchen sink, a soft sided lunch box was filled with a trio of buttered biscuits leftover from when Jack earned the assist on helping to make breakfast; a couple of quartered turkey, cheese, and Miracle Whip sandwiches and an apple completed the picnic. I took along hoodies for the three of us even though it was sunny and warm, and a book bag full of books we planned to return to the library and replace with a new stash.

We said our good byes to Mare, and she tried to make it meaningful , but the boys were just ready to get going, so with the blaze orange trailer flag flapping and my yellow construction vest reflecting and all three of our noggins protected by the best brain buckets our LBS (abbreviation for Local Bike Shop, a.k.a.
Wal-Mart)  had to offer, we took off.

We took an indirect route (the long way) so I could go by the Casey's store and make use of their free air compressor. I'd taken along my pressure gauge for just such a task. I made short work of that and was pleased to need only add a small amount to all four tires. I was further pleased to learn the recently re-blacktopped stretch of old highway 59 from the north Casey's store into town at the Kansas highway 68 junction had recently been re-striped as well to include a bicycle lane on each side, and a turning lane down the middle. It was a nice six foot or so lane I felt comfortable in, even pulling the trailer.

We went to the city library right off and quickly replenished the supply of children's books. I had thought there was supposed to be an outdoor concert near the library at a downtown lot park, and as I listened closely at the library bicycle rack, my suspicions were confirmed. It didn't sound like my kind of music, (probably some of that rock and roll music the young ones like so much these days) but, I was looking for just about anything free, outdoor,  and fatiguing in nature to a three year old and a one year old. We pedaled over to check it out.

It was indeed an outdoor concert and a loud, and apparently disgruntled, young man complained about something or other in a part growl and part whine. Luckily, the boys weren't interested in the music, but were interested in the other little boys and girls running around like heathens all over the place. I figured they were safe enough on their own in this downtown park adjacent to Main street, so I just pulled my cap down over my eyes and layed back in the shade of a tree and prepared for a nap. Not really. I wouldn't quite do that! I did pretty much let the boys run around as much as they wanted and climb around on the different benches and cement planters and the gazebo like thing there (an interesting side-note: despite having a smallish gazebo like thing permanently on location and available for the needs of bands, singers, performers, etc, the outdoor concert did not make use of it; instead, a largish, rather ugly fifth wheel flatbed trailer was backed into the street at an awkward angle, cutting off  traffic, for the performers to, well, perform upon. Furthermore, it was out directly in the full brunt of the sunshine, which was considerable on this afternoon, while the gazebo thing was up tight against the side of a building and was therefore in the pleasant shade. Also, none of the permanent seating which was in the park faced the street, it all faced the gazebo thing. I know it was small, but it seemed to me it would have been a minor inconvenience just to use the dang gazebo!)

The boys took me up on my granted freedom and played really hard all through the remaining songs of the "angry young men" band; all through the husband and wife country style novelty songs duets (example: Shopping at 7-11 instead of Stairway to Heaven performed on banjo); they played partway through Souled Out too; perhaps the best band I saw, although it annoyed me that the lead singer insisted on singing ". . . very sTupersticious . . ." with that extra "t" at the beginning. Somewhere amid this trainwreck of musical styles, the boys ate the biscuits and sandwiches and one shared cherry snowcone.

It was getting on close to five oclock and I'd promised to take the boys to the park too, so we geared up and pedaled toward Forest Park. There, the rest of the edge the boys possessed was rendered blunt by "equipment" and "other kids" and trying to actually move about with agility in that 6 inch deep pea gravel they keep under all the swings, ladders, and slides. Around six oclock or after they started hinting around at being hungry, so we split.

At home, a crock pot full of ham and beans had been percolating all day, and before we'd left for the day I'd baked a pan of cornbread, so the kitchen smelled fantastic when we entered. Since it was a special occasion of sorts, I let the boys eat their dinner watching a Bob the Builder episode on DVD.

I finally recognized these boys after all the park dirt and dried up snot was removed from their faces in the bath and they looked so much less like heathens I thought Marian and I should bathe these boys every night! But, I quickly came to my senses and decided bathing them once a week when we remember was good enough for someone else at one time, so it was not going to change on my watch (JK). Leo was right ready for bed and required no persuading. Jack, though worn down, still required further attention. He came back in the kitchen as I was cleaning it up after putting him to bed and wanted to know about the words he'd been singing all this time to The Star Spangled Banner. I did the best I could to explain it so he'd understand it, but it's difficult to explain things so simply, especially when they haven't experienced much and just don't know a lot. I tried to remain patient and use repetition, and I think I satisfied his curiosity. Since mom was gone for the  evening, I let Jack sleep with me in mom and dad's bed. He was like a rock and didn't move, I don't think, all night.

Sunday arrived and we fixed breakfast again and I took a bath and cleaned up the house and sent the boys outside to play. Mare came back home around noon and we all ate lunch together before we left in the afternoon to go the the pumpkin patch for a hayride, moonwalk, hay bale maze, and slides. The boys had a blast and so did the parents. Jack picked out both pumpkins for himself and Leo; they were good ones. Right as we were leaving it decided to rain, so we timed that just right.

Marian's night out went without incident, and as predicted she had a real fun time, but was very anxious and glad to be home.

My last entry  on this blog directed readers to get out there and enjoy the weekend and "do something"; well, I feel like I practiced what I preached and enjoyed a full weekend with my family. I hope you did as well. We love you; We're blessed; We pray blessings upon each of you our friends, and all our enemies too.
cb

Nothing Golden Stays . . .

Some of you may recognize that saying "Nothing Golden Stays", or something to that effect. It was probably made famous by the gang of ragamuffins and rapscallions which constitute the characters which make up the classic young adult book by S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders. It's actually from a poem by Robert Frost which one or more of the characters quotes in the movie. It's an allusion.

I chose the quote as this entry's title because of the quickly changing weather. Today, and each day of this week previous has been sunny, golden, and warm. I want to remind each of you to get out there and enjoy it while it lasts. Not too long from now the weather will likely be cold and wet, followed by  cold and dry, trailed by really, cold, and possibly intermixed with really, really, cold and snowy. So, get out there and rake your leaves into a pile and burn them if it's safe and admissible where you live. Get out and go for a walk and enjoy the warmth of the sun. Get out there and, of course, go for a bicycle ride. Go for a motorcycle ride. Go for a ride on a horse. Go for a ride on a hay wagon. Carve a pumpkin. Throw a football around. Take your kids to the park. Do something to enjoy this awesome, mild weather.

School this week went along just like a well oiled machine. We were even treated to a cookout today, on Friday for lunch. The first quarter is virtually over. The school year is mostly breezing by, which must indicate I am having fun. Well, that may be a stretch, but it's not miserable. I have much better kids this year than last year. The new schedule seems to make the day go by quicker as well.

Mare will be going out for a much needed girls night out on Saturday night. So, that means we'll simultaneously be enjoying a boys night in at home. Mare works way harder than I do and she almost never has a day off, so she deserves a fun night with adults. She'll be going to a free concert of some kind and hanging with her bff Lisa.

I've been doing some research this week about how to accumulate wealth, and I'm giving you all fair warning: my family is going to be rich. I'm speaking "in faith" here. This is rather new to me. I've never been one to let money concern me. Part of that is because I'm blessed with a rich dad; literally and figuratively. He tried his best to teach me to be a rich son, but alas, as the saying goes you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Although dad was willing and able and in fact tried to teach me financial literacy, I chose not to engage in it or apply it. Well, that's all changed. Part of my education is reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It's a book I highly recommend.

I keep a list of "prayers", if you will, with me all the time to remind me of my goals and, again, speaking in faith. It's too bad I waited until 35 years old to do this, but I'm focusing on the future and the now. If I apply myself for the next twenty years, my family will be rich and I'll only be 55. I can become a millionaire, literally, in that time.

So, you've been warned.

I have a great life. It's only going to get better. Love you all.
cb

Another historic day

Our family drove to Humboldt on Saturday to attend the Biblesta parade and celebration. It's always held the first Saturday in October and this year marked the fifty-some year  anniversary. As is usually the case, the weather was ideal. The sun was fully out and cast a golden, yes,  heavenly aura on the day; temperatures stayed in the low seventies, just right to wear a pair of jeans, long sleeve shirt and jacket. Meteorologically speaking, we couldn't have asked for a better day (unless of course you like warmer temperatures, or cooler temperatures, or cloudy days, or rain).

For as long as I have attended this event my grandma Bonnie has presided over the west side of 8th street along the parade route, directly across from the town square where the vendors sell food, the beans are cooked, and the entertainment, well, entertains. She's pretty well as dependable as clockwork in this respect and through the years I've expected to find her, or to find any of her three daughters, or their children (except mefor obvious reasons) seated their and keeping room for the rest of us arriving late. You can then imagine how disoriented and confused I became upon arriving at the aforementioned location to find no one I recognized seated there! However, the planets quickly realigned themselves and my faith in humanity was restored when we spied Grandma making her way toward us. Turns out she had some last minute costuming to perform for the actors on the First Baptist Church of Humboldt's float depicting Moses and the burning bush, a float which garnered them the "Best Dramatic" award from the judges.

Speaking of awards, my dad's motorcycle gang (club) the Chariots of Light Motorcycle Club hosted a bike show and dad won the people's choice award and a monetary prize of $500 accompanied by a trophy. He claims he stuffed the ballot box with his own votes. It could be. But it could also be his bike is just that bad a**! The votes cost $1 each and the money went toward a food pantry. Though I don't know where the prize money came from. Incidentally, his handlebar mustache is gone and replaced with a well trimmed goatee, and his pony tail has been replaced with a hair cut a few degrees longer than a flat top.

The big show for Biblesta this year was the inclusion of the Marching Cobras. They are a performance group from out of Kansas City. Several males ranging in age from what appeared to be middle age on down to elementary school vigorously played all manner of drums and a couple dozen young ladies danced in sync to the rhythm. These people were energetic. The rhythms they played were explosive and exciting and the dancing was pretty well executed and precise. They were a crowd favorite.

On a big semi-trailer in the town square a contemporary Christian band performed. These were a group of young men, teen age to early twenties I'd guess playing electric guitars and a trap set. They were popular with the young people and looked like they were able to keep the attention of the old people as well. It was a far cry and a big improvement from the years I remember growing up when the entertainment was aimed at stuffy adults and were primarily state name choirs like The Missourians; The Oklahomans etc. Their look was matching suits and matching hair helmets. This new generation rocked out! I also heard them conduct several heart felt prayers and praise and mentioning the saving grace of Jesus' blood and His resurrection, and giving genuine respect to our veterans and expressing true thankfulness and appreciation for what Biblesta is all about. I was impressed when at the end of their set, the lead guitarist and vocalist removed his electric guitar and handed it down to a young man in the front row, (yes there was a front row, which means by definition there were more than one row standing and having fun) presumably to keep.

Our family had a few bites of our grandma Bonnie's funnel cake, but we didn't indulge in any "fair food" like we usually make it a point to do. Instead, upon arrival to Humboldt we stopped at Moon's grocery and bought some French bread and some good cheese and drinks to sort of have a picnic while we waited for the parade. Mom brought her good dutch oven cooker to fill with beans from the free bean feed and I rode in her truck to steady the container while she drove to her and dad's house for supper around five thirty. I met Damon from Bentonville, Arkansas, a fellow Chariots of Light club member and friend of dad's up for the festivities. He sported a nice racoon look from the sun and wind burn of the three or so hour trip to Kansas. It was his first time to visit Kansas and I hope he'd agree he picked a good destination and time to finally make it. He relocated from New York City to Bentonville and is quite enamored with the small town life.

Dad's cousin Eddie and his wife Brenda were in attendance for the parade and then at mom and dad's for the beans. Eddie fondly recalled his first year attending Biblesta a few years back at dad's invitation when dad was in charge and promptly placed Eddie in the parade driving a gator and  following the horse entries as the ever important, much coveted position of "poop scooper". I tried to put a positive spin on it by renaming it the "road apple harvester" position, but it only improves the looks of the job on paper. Mom pointed out to him how much of an impact it had on him because he clearly remembers it.

The beans were good. They needed salt right away, not after four bowls full. Grandma Irene was there at dad's and she'd brought along some of her chow-chow she'd made, or dad's sister Betty had made. I'm unsure who made it, but it is really good on ham and beans. I'd brought along some spicy peppers to mince and add to the beans. Mom had made corn bread. Ross came out and ate with us also. It was good talking to him. He had an auction to run the next day so we were asking him all about that business. I don't know why, but auctioneering has proven to be quite the conversation, never failing to pique our interest.

We all had some laughs and enjoyed a good day. The boys had a great time. No matter what your beliefs are, it is still quite moving to attend a celebration which takes full advantage of the right to free speech. Not only that, it's a celebration which focuses on the Christian heritage of our great nation. Lastly, it's an opportunity to take in a celebration which is centered around an undisputed literary classic. It's small town at its best. It's people at their best. It's Humboldt at its best, and I hope it continues true to its mission for many more generations to come.

Just a quick entry

Good morning folks! At least it's still morning at the time of writing. It looks to be a gorgeous day. If you didn't know already, last week marked a couple of seasonal mileposts: first, the autumnal equinox occurred. This means it's one of the two days a year when the length of the day is equal to the length of the night. Since that happened, the days have been getting shorter than the nights. This will continue until the winter solstice, which is the shortest day (or the longest night) of the year. Secondly, there was a full moon nearly on the equinox, which made it the harvest moon; so called, I gather, because in years past farmers who were more in touch with the seasonal changes utilized the closest full moon to the equinox in order to do some catching up on harvesting into the night. Or maybe that's a wive's tale and it's just the full moon closest to the harvest time. Anyway, I lived my whole life hearing these terms and never really understanding what was happening until relatively recently as an adult.

We're all fine and dandy here in "O-town". You are all in our thoughts and prayers. We love you.
cb

A good weekend

Our family had a nice weekend. Saturday I cleaned up some of my bathroom remodel mess and helped out entertaining the boys and with breakfast and lunch. We left in the afternoon to attend an ice cream social in Baldwin City for the Baldwin City Children's Choir which Jack auditioned for and of which he will become a part.

From there we drove to Humboldt to stay the night at my grandma Irene's house. She's been offering for a long time, and we finally decided to just do it. The boys had an absolute blast. They each got to sleep in a genuine twin bed of their own for the first time and they did just fine. The next morning they played outside on grandma's patio. We really enjoyed staying there.

Mom and dad got back from their mc trip to Alabama and Dixieland safely.

Sunday, grandma and our family met Clarie and her family in Chanute for lunch. We had a good lunch and talked. Then we all had to break and drive to Iola for my other grandma's 8oth birthday party in the city building at the fair grounds. It was a good party and lots and lots of people attended. Grandma Bonnie looked really good for her party. I got to see a few relatives I don't see very often and give them a hard time. My mom and aunts put it on and they did great with the cake and punch and decorations.

We stayed there til almost five then drove back to Ottawa. It was a good, fulfilling weekend. Sorry I can't go into more detail (or should I say you're welcome!) but I've run out of time for now.

Love you all

cb

It's Friday !

Hey there. Sorry I haven't been maintaining this thing like I should have. How many times have I started my blog entries this way? (That's a rhetorical question, don't respond). Life gets in the way. Hey, you guys never write an apology for not reading these on a regular basis, so why should I apologize?(again, rhetorical).

It seems like since school has started I've been making it a goal to go to bed as close to nine o'clock as I can. I need as much as that eight hours of sleep as I can get. I know, I know, you guys all get up earlier and go to bed much later and do a lot more during the day. Well, what can I say? You're tough, I'm a wuss; you're good looking, I'm unattractive . . . I get it.

Life's still good. I still love being a dad and brother, son, cousin, etc. I still have mixed feelings about being a teacher. I wrote three songs over the last two days. I'm excited about that.

We're going to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday on Sunday. I'll hopefully have more to report about that.

Love to you all.
cb

Back to the schedule

It's another Wednesday. I enjoyed a three day Labor Day weekend: it's the holiday which observes the contributions made by the working people of the U.S. I'd like to think nearly everyone I know fits this category. Some would argue I do not, but I'm a taxpayer like everyone else (is supposed to be).

Last Friday Mare and I gathered and organized our things to go for a campout Sat. and Sunday night. I had intended to stay home all three days and get a bunch done on the bathroom project as it is still dragging on. But, I decided spending some quality time with my family doing what we enjoy was more important. Hopefully Jack and Leo will have pleasant memories of camping together rather than unpleasant memories of me being a grump and isolating myself away from them to work on a project. Time will tell. So, I didn't turn a tap on the bathroom since the previous weekend when I installed the bathtub.

The original plan was for us to load everything into the car on Friday night, then on Saturday morning I'd leave on my bicycle for the 30 plus mile trip to Woodridge Primitive Campground (the underlined portion is a link to a google map of where we camp, try right clicking to open in a new window) then Mare and the boys would soon follow in one of the cars. Well, I guess we require way too much "stuff" to make our camp enjoyable, and we soon found that we had too much "stuff" to fit into one vehicle. I'm adaptable. So, I scratched the idea of riding my bicycle there and instead volunteered to drive grandma's car so we could take all of our "stuff".

I had the boys loaded and ready to go in grandma's car and Mare was nearly ready to go. The new plan was for her to go to Wal-Mart to purchase groceries for the weekend, and while shopping, have the driver's side rear tire repaired as it had been slowly leaking. Well, the fine crew Wal-Mart employs in their tire department requires that 3 of the 4 workers either watch the one work, or stand and talk about how lousy it is to work on Labor Day weekend. They all four of them slowly focused on one car at a time to complete these tasks of changing oil and fixing tires. It's consistent with their checkout line policy: 26 or so checkout lanes available, open 2 for use; 4 garage bays for completing vehicle service work, open one for use. Despite the register/ schedule girl behind the service counter assuring Mare it would only take "about a 20 minute wait", poor Mare waited in Wal-Mart, killing time for close to three hours. All she wanted was to get out to the campground and begin enjoying her time with her family. It's a frustrating experience.

But, we had a great campout. Except for my allergies, or a cold; I'm unsure which I had. I had a clogged nose and congested sinuses accompanied by a headache. I took whatever medicine anyone had to offer and felt better. Leo didn't sleep well the first night, which means Mare and I didn't either. He did much better the second night. That was probably because he and Jack were worn out from playing and hiking. Both of them really liked walking on the trails. I was sure to keep an eye out for the poison ivy. I seemed to have been successful.

It was windy. But, other than that, it was a good campout.

Back at school on Tuesday. Worked for a couple hours after school on the bathroom. I'm two hours or so closer to being done. I'll try to complete another two hours or so tonight, as I won't be able to Thursday or Friday.

Congratulations to my sister and her husband for being married for 15 years! That's older than some of my students have been alive! It's a pleasant accomplishment to make it being married in today's society who value divorce for convenience. They are a great couple with even better kids. She's a way better sister than I am a brother. She works very hard and does everything she attempts very well. Her husband sacrifices in all things for the betterment of their family. They demonstrate good values and priorities for their children and community. They are a model of a strong relationship. Congratulations on fifteen years!

Mom and dad spent the weekend with sis's kids down in Oklahoma. They had a blast no doubt. Went to the fair; good job on your entries girls! Took them to church. Had a lot of fun. Mom and dad are leaving for another motorcycle trip a the end of the week, I think. This time it's to Alabama (where the skies are so blue). Pray for their protection!

This writing has gotten out of hand I need to wrap it up! Much love to all of you my friends and family. Love to my enemies too. Enjoy the approaching autumn.

Technology!

I had a nice new blog entry composed Monday morning, but apparently I didn't have it saved and it didn't get published on this page. Basically I celebrated the installation of our new bathtub. More accurately, I celebrated the joys of taking a genuine hot bath after spending nearly a month sponge bathing from the kitchen sink.

I also gave my respect to my brother-in-law who has built an entire house by himself over a period of a few years; and to my father-in-law who has been completely remodeling the first floor of his house from the foundation up, all by himself. I only had to redo fifty square feet! And, I had my dad do the plumbing, my first cousin do the electric, and my father-in-law install the window!

So, I think I'm a little more than halfway through. I'll work on it Monday, Labor day. We'll go camping for a night, Saturday night. I plan to ride my bicycle to the campground on Saturday morning, about 30 or so miles, then back home again Sunday. Marian and I will get our camp gear loaded and ready on Friday night so she can load the boys up and bring them out in the car on their own.

Lastly, I wanted to pay respects to a friend of our family who died in a motorcycle accident over the weekend. I got to know this man when he was a teenager. I was three years younger and thought he was pretty cool. I met him through the First Baptist Church youth group. He was a bit of a cowboy and helped out my grandpa with chores and cattle work on occasion. I'd ride around with him in a couple of different old trucks he drove, and we'd listen to country music on the a.m. dial. For the rest of my life when I hear Vern Gosdin sing "Set 'em up Joe", I'll think of Carl. This one's for you, I'll miss you. Set 'em up Joe.

Choir Tryouts

Yesterday after I arrived home from school, the four of us quickly ate hot dogs Mare had prepared outside on the gas grill, then loaded up into the car. The boys ate theirs without wearing any shirts, and their hair was combed perfectly. They didn't wear shirts during supper because Mare wanted them to stay neat and clean, and as you might know from experience it's difficult to keep food off a young boys shirt. Plus, taking a shirt on and off can mess up perfectly combed hair. We drove North to Baldwin City, the home of Baker University, the college from which I received my masters degree. But, we didn't go to Baker, but instead we went to a former lumberyard there converted into an arts center on the same block as the university, but just to the south. There, Jack sang our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, for his audition for a children's choir which meets there. Mare went with Jack while Leo and I explored outside. He sang for the director and she said he did very well. So, it looks as though Jack will be joining a children's choir this fall.

Tonight I'll be at the high school from 6:30-8:30 for an open house. I'll be meeting parents and showing off the great job Mare did decorating my classroom.

It looks like I've ran out of time to write. See you later.

I

It's me again. . .Margaret

No, I'm not Margaret. No, I'm not really addressing any of the followers of this blog who happen to share the name Margaret. I don't harbor any ill will against the name Margaret, nor am I secretly prejudiced for it either. Me writing "It's me again, Margaret" is what is referred to as an allusion. It should not be confused with an illusion, like what David Copperfield, Chris Angel, or any other magician practices. An allusion is a reference to a well known event, work of literature, song, or play found in literature, music, movies, or drama.

The allusion I alluded to was from a Ray Stevens (or is it Stephens?) song bearing the title, "It's me again, Margaret". In the song, a phone stalker calls a female target by the name Margaret and half whispers, half pants these words: "It's me again Margaret. Are you naked?" Back when the song was made the idea of a man doing this to a woman was considered playfully, innocently, harmless. Nowadays, this kind of behavior might earn the caller a restraining order. It would probably qualify as sexual harassment, and come with a conviction as a sex offender. But, when Ray Stevens (or is it Stephens?) sings about it, it's just funny.

Anyway, the entire reason I went on about Ray Stevens (or is it Stephens?) and his song "It's me again, Margaret", and the mini-lesson about allusions, and the veiled warning against making anonymous, heavy breathing phone calls, is to say that I've returned at nighttime, in the same day to add another post to this blog. Get it? It's me again . . .Margaret. It's an allusion to the Ray Stevens (or is it Stephens?) song.

The bad part of this whole thing is I've used up all the time I had allotted myself to write about my family by writing about allusions, Ray Stevens (or is it Stephens?), and unlawful phone use.

My family is good. Boys are fine. Marian is fine. I'm fine. I'll catch you on the flip-side

. . . See that's another allusion. Only this time it is referring to the antique (or is it vintage?) recording medium called vinyl records where the listener was forced to physically flip the record over in order to listen to the other side and . . . .

Mom and dad have made it back to the flatlands of home. I received a text from mom saying they spent fourteen hours on their motorcycle in one day on their way home! They are hard core! I told them they had won the "Iron butt of the year award".

I'm trying to get prepared to leave for school and have ran out of time. My bathroom remodel project might be getting around the halfway point. I insulated the ceiling and installed the ceiling fixture electric boxes. I did some other things too, and if I had left myself a little more time, I'd write about it all.

Have a great day, I know I will.

Pictures for your enjoyment

Recently I uncovered a bunch of pictures I'd saved on a flash drive and thought I'd share them with you.

Enjoy!

This first is Jack as a little guy sleeping in his car seat. I'm amazed at how a person can have the same characteristics as an infant as they do for the rest of their lives.

I apologize about the rotation of the other picture. I guess I need to learn how to manipulate these things.

School days, school daze . . .

I can't hardly believe it. I have to report back to the high school today. Summer has officially ended for me. I know what you're thinking, "Boo-hoo, Clayton. You had all summer off while the rest of us worked!"

Well, you are right. I did have all summer off from school. I loved every minute of it, I think. There might have been a few minutes here toward the end of summer when the temperature rose above the 100 degree mark that I might not have loved, but all in all it was a good summer. I didn't accomplish everything on my to-do list, but I did accomplish a few things off it:

Clean out garage

Repair garage door

Clean out workshop

Remove three unnecessary clothesline poles

Build a new pantry cabinet

Build a new book shelf

Install basketball goal

South Dakota family reunion

Ride bicycle to Humboldt

Complete masters degree

These are some of the things I can think of right off hand which I did manage to remove from my list. I did all those previously listed items toward the beginning and middle of summer. That means I started on the biggest item on my summer to-d0 list about two weeks too late. I took the first steps to begin remodeling out bathroom the last week in July. Guess what? The bathroom is far from done and we STILL do not have a bathtub to use. I'd say I'm about halfway through remodeling the bathroom, and I aim to get it done here in the next few weeks.

So, I guess I should supply you with my list of things I didn't get accomplished over the summer:

didn't travel to Oklahoma to visit my sister Clarie's family

didn't scrape and paint exterior of house

didn't go camping once a week

didn't get back porch organized and utilized

didn't write in my journal or maintain my blog

didn't play my guitar everyday

didn't write any songs

didn't write any fiction

Obviously, when an entire summer has transpired, there have been numerous moments I should have been recording on this blog or in one of my journals, but didn't. So, as long as I'm making lists, I might as well make a list of things I wished I had written about for you, the reader, and for me and my family's memory:

rainy fourth of July spent in the dry, newly cleaned-out garage

attending Feldhaus family reunion in Howard, South Dakota

the first "bad" camp out our family has experienced

Jack's and my only camp out of the summer

riding to Humboldt on my bicycle

cleaning out garage

removing those clothesline poles

remodeling the bathroom

visiting with Clarie and her kids

My hope and plan is that with school resuming, and along with it a schedule, I'll be more apt to sit and make entries into the blog and to resume writing in my journal. Now that I'm no longer pursuing a master's degree, I plan to write some fiction and some songs. But, before I can be completely at ease, I must complete my bathroom remodel. I've worked very hard to get done what's been done. It had been leaking from the tub and possibly from the toilet it looked like well before we bought the house three summers ago. I had to remove plaster and lath and the floor. But, I could not have done what's has been done without the help of my father, who helped move the toilet and run some plumbing all in one day. Also, my father in-law, Rick removed the old window and installed a new one. Lastly, my cousin Ross, came up and ran electric for me. All these guys did the "thinking" portion of remodeling the bathroom. Really, all I did was the demolition. It was hard work, but any dimwit can remove plaster and lath. These three guys were clutch in their efforts to make good use of their time and knowledge. Thank You!

It's a little after six a.m. and I am anxious to get on up to the school and see everyone again at the big district breakfast. I still need to stop by Casey's general store and check on the air pressure of my bicycle tires. Tonight after I return, we'll go to the Home Depot to purchase what remains to be needed for the completion of the bathroom.

To all my family: I love you and any success I may have at anything is directly contributed to you and your support and not my own efforts. Have a great day and check back here for an update.

Wobbly, Friday morning legs

Good morning. It's Friday morning June 4. The attic fan has been cooling off the house quite well and made for some good sleeping. . .for Jack and I. Leo decided he needed to be awake and fussing several different times during the night, so that meant Marian also was up and fussing several times in the night. Jack and I slept like logs. Jack came bounding in to get in bed with us around 5:30 or so. It's a tight squeeze in the bed with the three of us.

Leo is already dressed for the day, I did that, and picked out his clothes. Jack came in as I was typing this to get changed into outside clothes for the day. They're out enjoying the cool morning in our little fenced in backyard.

I took some footage of Leo being Leo and stumbling about a little as he learns to walk. He can do quite well and take upwards of a dozen steps or more across the room. He's very proud of himself and looks to us as if saying "look what I can do!" Plus his own little unique language is pretty cute too.

A long overdue howdy in video person

Pomp and circumstance

It's a rainy time of year and kind of cool and gray these days. We had a busy Friday and Saturday. On Friday I sped home and did what I could to help us prepare to leave for my cousin Shane Stanley's graduation from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. The best way I can help, usually, is to run interference with Jack and Leo while Marian gets all their "things" ready to go. We were able to leave the house close to 3:30, stop for gas fill-up and an automatic car wash (which apparently was the super-deluxe, fifteen minute wash option) then first travel east on K-68 to Louisburg, then head south on 69 highway all the way to Pittsburg. We took much less time to travel there than we had anticipated. We planned for the trip to take two and a half hours, but ended up taking us an hour and forty five minutes.

We met our friend Jamie Reagan and her 19 month old son Jeremiah at our favorite old, Mexican food restaurant in Pittsburg: El Charro (in Spanish this means "the Charro". It's a good thing we were running ahead of schedule because they were busy for graduation and the place was packed. Jamie and Jeremiah were a delight. Jamie caught me up on all the gossip at Frontenac High School, the school I first taught. She and Marian traded mom stories. Then it was time to go.

We decided to split up. I'd take Jack into the commencement ceremony to sit with my mom and my grandma, and my two aunts, their husbands, and Shane's sister and her husband. Marian would take Leo and go to the "mall" in Pittsburg. Mom and I were texting back and forth, communicating where we were, how long we'd be, etc. So, Jack and I found them easily.

We arrived right at the scheduled starting time, but they didn't actually play and sing the national anthem until 7:45, fifteen minutes late, to get things started. This gave me some time to people watch and think.

Pittsburg was a town in which I didn't think I'd stay for long. I had plans to just get my degree and take off to the next destination. I had had it in my mind, probably from listening to other "negative Nancies", that I didn't like Pittsburg, though I didn't know why. Well, without going into all the sordid details, I extended my schooling there, and then kept extending it. Then, of course, I met Marian and that changed things too. I ended up staying there nine years, or somewhere close to that.

Pittsburg looked good. They had widened Broadway street in the downtown, and also added all new streetlamps and traffic signals in black. It looked nice. Most of Pittsburg looked the same, some new businesses were there.

I did recognize a few students from Frontenac High School I'd taught. We all had difficulty remembering each other's names, but once we heard them they became familiar. A pair of boys I'd taught admitted they couldn't remember my name, but they remembered that eagle song I played for the talent show. I guess I made an impression that way.

I also sort of realized all of the cousins are all grown up now. Shane was the last of us to graduate from college. All this time I still thought of him as my little cousin. But, let's face it. He's a full head taller than me and probably has at least fifty or more pounds on me, so he's anything but my little cousin, except in age.

It made me wonder how much longer all of us will be getting together like that. Neither of my parents get together with their cousins. With Ross out in Montana, who knows whether he'll come back or not, or when.

I also spoke briefly with one of my foremen at the construction company I worked for while living in Pittsburg. "Spinning Jim" earned his name from his attempt to multi-task about half a dozen different things on the job site and the ensuing flurry of activity surrounding him as he tried to get a bearing on what he started out doing. He drove this panel van, on its last leg, full about waist high with all the tools of the trade he owned. He'd pull up to the job site at quitting time and just start chucking things in there with no regard to position. We always told him to never get his brakes fixed, because if he suddenly had the ability to stop the van suddenly he'd get his head taken off by a flying "c" clamp, or router, or saw blade or something flying up front from the back. Another old man I worked with there told me how spinning Jim once sneezed driving down the road and it caused his false teeth to fly out the window causing him to stop the van and retrieve them from out of the road way.

I'm sure Shane will make all of us proud. He's going to be employed with Xerox. He's a very nice young man with good morals and I know he'll be successful at whatever he does.

Jack did well sitting with us in the crowded gymnasium. We took one extended potty break and I let him run around outside amidst all the cigarette smoke from those who hover near the entrance doors on occasions like this. Then Marian called me on mom's cell phone. She had some clothes picked out to buy but I had the credit card. So we arranged a swap out front of the gym.

When Shane walked through we all stood and clapped and yelled and his mom Becky and dad Randy honked one of those clown horns you see on bicycles sometimes. Shane smiled and waved and played it cool.

After the ceremony, Marian picked us up and we attended the reception at a church. They had some good cake and ice cream and drinks. Jack and Leo ran and crawled all around having a ball. We stayed there until eleven o'clock. We dressed the boys in the pajamas and took off for home. They were asleep nearly before we got out of the driveway. We arrived home right about one o'clock.

The next day was rainy and we attended another graduation reception, this time in Lawrence, outside. We met in a nice covered shelter, but it was cool, windy, and rainy. The kids all had a blast playing while the adults grumbled. After that we went to Marian's parents for about an hour to warm up and visit before we headed home.

It was good to see my "alma mater". I had to use that term just once, to pacify my mother.

She's very fond of that term and finds new and creative ways to use it in conversations with me. Now, Shane will look back with glowing fondness of his years spent at his alma mater.