Melika birthday colors crash eucalyptus branch and salmon
“Won’t it be dark at 2:00AM?” Nazy asked.
“Of course,” I replied.
“Is someone going to ‘turn on’ the Sun?”
“No. They’re going to change the clocks. Then the Sun will set an hour later. Voila!”
“You realize, Dan, that there won’t be more sunlight.”
“Of course not. They’ll just ‘move’ light from the morning to the afternoon to make the ‘days longer’ (something the Sun already does every Spring). But since more people are awake in the afternoon than in the morning, many will think that sunlight has been created. Unfortunately for the future of the Republic, many of these people are voters.”
“But the days get longer all by themselves during the summer - so what is the point?”
“Consider it practice.”
“Practice? For what?”
“For jet lag - we’ll move the clock forward just like you would on a flight.”
It is a ‘timely’ change. In a few months, Nazy and I will be going to Lebanon to see Darius and Christiane. Nazy is flying by way of Zurich and I’ll be going directly. ‘Directly; via Montreal and Geneva. We’re looking forward to the trip, our first vacation since we left Switzerland.
This week we also celebrated Melika’s birthday - a time to reflect on Melika’s childhood.
Flashback Houston, Texas
Just moved to Houston from Vancouver, Canada, we were living in temporary housing. (In fact, as soon as I experienced the heat and humidity, I decided that the entire stay would be temporary.) Darius, recovering from a broken arm suffered in a jungle gym miscue in Vancouver, was attempting to play on the swing in the nearby park. It wasn’t working, so he asked me for help.
“Ronnie won’t get off the swing, Dad. It’s my turn.”
“Okay, Darius,” I replied. “I’ll come in a minute.”
“Thanks, Dad!” Darius replied - dashing back outside.
Because I assumed that Ronnie would be bored eventually, I finished my newspaper and waited. Then Darius came running back.
“You don’t have to come, Dad. Everything is okay.”
“Great! Did Ronnie leave?”
“No. Melika just pushed him off the swing and I got on.”
End Flashback
As I mentioned last week, I am in the middle of cataract surgery. The right (and final) eye was treated last Wednesday. So far, everything has worked fine. It will take a few weeks to ‘settle-in’, but in the meantime, I’m already noticing that the world is brighter. The impact is amplified by the color-blind correcting eyeglasses that Melika and Nazy got me for Valentine’s Day.
“It’s astonishing, Nazy!” I exclaimed as I drove downtown. “The ‘green’ light actually looks green. It’s always looked white to me.”
“So you couldn't tell it from a..”
“ … street light!” I interrupted. “Even the blue looks more vibrant. The world is colorful.”
“I want to find some impatiens, Dan. You have never been able to tell the difference between salmon colored flowers and green leaves.”
“Yes dear.” I replied. “Why is she so excited about flowers that look like fish? Especially a fish that dies after spawning.” I thought.
I wasn't permitted to swim during recovery, but Tom took young Tiger to the lesson.
Later that day, while I was on a con-call, Nazy looked out the window and noticed that our tree was shaking.
Note: The tree in question is a huge eucalyptus tree. Andre the Giant would be unable to wrap his arms around it. When something that big shakes, something that big is wrong.
Nazy scooped up the baby - and called when she heard a loud crack.
I ran to the kitchen. A 30 foot long branch, at least 15 inches in diameter, had fallen into the metal gate (and across the whole yard into the creek) by the back door. The wrought iron gate was squished out of shape.
“Perhaps,” I thought, “that’s why the locals don’t like eucalyptus trees.” These trees are illegal aliens, eh, in California Politically Correctspeak they are undocumented flora. They are filled with oil and can explode when burned. (Think forest fire.) A resident radical was arrested when he tried to chop down local eucalyptus trees.
This, of course, brought back thoughts of Melika in Memphis..
Flashback Memphis
Because Melika didn’t like sleeping behind a fence, she demolished all the slats in the crib. Every morning she climbed out of the crib, picked up a pair of shorts, a top and a diaper. If we wanted to start the day off with a fight, we could simply attempt to dress her in a different shirt or pair of shorts. In fact, several months later, I was trying to get her ready for an outing. Instructions from my lovely spouse specified exactly what Melika was to wear. Melika, who had not been consulted, was having none of it. She got very upset with me. A skilled parent, I tried a reverse physiology.
“Well Melika!” I exclaimed. “Since you don’t like me. I guess that you don’t need a Daddy. So I will just leave. What do you think about that?”
“Good!” Melika retorted. But she was thinking. “Before you go, can you please change my diaper?”
End Flashback
As you can see, Melika not only knows what she wants (and is determined to get it), she also has an occasional practical streak:
Flashback Hanover, NH
“I see how you’ve chosen which colleges you want to attend,” I began. “You simply looked an ocean that was as far from here as possible. Santa Barbara, San Diego, New Orleans and Miami. I have some news for you. There is no swimmable ocean near Tulane in New Orleans.”
“I also applied to Penn State, Dad.” Melika claimed.
“Your essay was entitled ‘Why I don’t want to be a Nittany Lion’”, I replied.
“What’s a Nittany Lion?” Nazy asked.
It’s the Penn State mascot,” I replied. “She doesn’t want to go to Penn State because it doesn’t have a beach.”
End Flashback
We’re lucky that Melika decided on Santa Barbara. It’s a beautiful place to live.
For last week's letter, click here.
Tiger and Tiger