baby girl revealed at introspective solstice festival and birthday
As alluded to in last week’s issue, Melika and Tom recently hosted a gigantic birthday./gender reveal party. Some readers thought that I may have spilled the beans with the color coding that I selected at the end of said letter.
“No, Dan.” Nazy interrupts. “Last week you used pink, now you’re using gray.”
“Really?” I replied. “Now I see, well, I can understand, why people may come to that conclusion.” Colorblind, I thought differently: “Looks the same to me.”
So, ending the suspense: A truly grand daughter will arrive in mid-August. The official announcement and discovery occurred at the Tomchela — a live music and arts festival that occurred over an extended weekend in Ojai… where Tom’s birthday was also celebrated. Before watching the grandest sons over the weekend, Nazy and I took them to Ojai to see early preparations for the festival. It was a party that no attendee will ever forget!
This week, Wednesday to be specific, marked the end of the (pre)school year for Tiger. We went to the ocean-view venue to see the gradation. (Tiger was too young to be in the graduating cohort.) Tiger’s group sang the Incy Wincy Spider in Spanish. And, as the teacher reminded us, Tiger was a critical participant because..
“… he’s the only one that knows all the words.”
There was no school on Thursday and Friday after the graduation. Nazy and I took the boys to the zoo on Friday, noting that Tiger was in a sour mood.
“Maybe he didn’t get enough sleep,” Nazy suggested.
“Take a ‘happy pill’, Tiger,” I suggested.
Eventually, he settled down and we enjoyed the zoo together. Then we went to lunch. Tiger complained about the table that Nazy picked. Tiger didn’t want to wash his hands. He didn’t want Arrow to sit at the same table (or the same restaraunt). Eventually, he was standing on his chair, shouting:
“I don’t want it!” Tiger roared.
“I hear you,” I replied. “Everyone can hear you,” I thought. “What don’t you want?” I said.
“I don’t want it, Dan.’’ Tiger bellowed.
“ So what do you want?”
“I don’t want it!” Tiger howled.
“I know, it’s so annoying when you don’t want it. What do you want?”
“I don’t want it!”
“What do you want, Tiger?”
Tiger paused …
“I’m getting through to him,” I thought.
“Dan!” Tiger began (exasperated). “When I’m shouting like this, I don’t know what I want.”
“Introspection! The lad is advanced for his age,” I thought. “Would you like to throw some pennies into the turtle fountain?” I asked.
“Okay, Dan.” He replied.
In the last week or so, I’ve begun to notice boxes piling up in the house. We are moving. And this time, we’re actually sorting through (and getting rid) of…
“Stuff, Nazy.” I explained. “We have too much stuff.”
“You kept the tax returns from 1986, Dan,” Nazy replied.
“I’m throwing them out now,” I retorted. “1986 — now that was a good year,” I thought.
“And why do we have two boxes of crumbled cement?”
“That’s the Berlin Wall, Nazy.”
“What about this laptop case?”
“That was for a Digital Equipment HiNote Ultra," I replied. “Early 90’s,” I thought.
We’ve thrown out (or recycled) several boxes of books, a huge number of cables for electronic devices that we no longer have, an equally large number of ancient electronic devices for which we’ve lost the cables, bank statements from our time in Holland (1989-1994) and a hockey puck…
“Not my lucky hockey puck, Nazy!” I exclaimed. “I caught that one in a Dartmouth game.”
“Caught it your teeth?” Nazy asked.
“The new house is much closer to the ocean. In fact, it has an ocean view. It is, accordingly, away from the fire and mudslide prone parts of Santa Barbara. In fact..
“It’s in the tsunami and meteor strike area,” I explained to Nazy.
“Meteor strike?” She asked. “How has that risk changed?”
“I am so glad you asked, my dear. More than two-thirds of the planet is covered by water. Thus: it is twice as likely that a meteor will land in the ocean rather than on land. Ergo, ipso facto, quod erat demonstrandum it follows that a house close to the ocean has a higher chance of being hit by a meteor strike. Consequently, we could all die when we’re hit.”
Braving the danger, Nazy and I will begin moving July 21st — the day before our anniversary.
On a totally unrelated subject, fans of James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, the two US Presidents vying for label as ‘worst ever’, have concluded that both have been easily dislodged.
On a happier note, images of Arrow follow.
“No, Dan.” Nazy interrupts. “Last week you used pink, now you’re using gray.”
“Really?” I replied. “Now I see, well, I can understand, why people may come to that conclusion.” Colorblind, I thought differently: “Looks the same to me.”
So, ending the suspense: A truly grand daughter will arrive in mid-August. The official announcement and discovery occurred at the Tomchela — a live music and arts festival that occurred over an extended weekend in Ojai… where Tom’s birthday was also celebrated. Before watching the grandest sons over the weekend, Nazy and I took them to Ojai to see early preparations for the festival. It was a party that no attendee will ever forget!
Tomchela occurred on the Solstice weekend, an occasion marked by Santa Barbara’s annual Solstice Day parade. Mitra came up to visit and watch the parade. Avoiding parking challenges (and to exploit our walking distance location), we all walked to the parade. Note: By ‘we all’, I mean Nazy, Mitra and me. Tiger and Arrow chose the riding option — holding hands in solidarity.
This week, Wednesday to be specific, marked the end of the (pre)school year for Tiger. We went to the ocean-view venue to see the gradation. (Tiger was too young to be in the graduating cohort.) Tiger’s group sang the Incy Wincy Spider in Spanish. And, as the teacher reminded us, Tiger was a critical participant because..
“… he’s the only one that knows all the words.”
There was no school on Thursday and Friday after the graduation. Nazy and I took the boys to the zoo on Friday, noting that Tiger was in a sour mood.
“Maybe he didn’t get enough sleep,” Nazy suggested.
“Take a ‘happy pill’, Tiger,” I suggested.
Eventually, he settled down and we enjoyed the zoo together. Then we went to lunch. Tiger complained about the table that Nazy picked. Tiger didn’t want to wash his hands. He didn’t want Arrow to sit at the same table (or the same restaraunt). Eventually, he was standing on his chair, shouting:
“I don’t want it!” Tiger roared.
“I hear you,” I replied. “Everyone can hear you,” I thought. “What don’t you want?” I said.
“I don’t want it, Dan.’’ Tiger bellowed.
“ So what do you want?”
“I don’t want it!” Tiger howled.
“I know, it’s so annoying when you don’t want it. What do you want?”
“I don’t want it!”
“What do you want, Tiger?”
Tiger paused …
“I’m getting through to him,” I thought.
“Dan!” Tiger began (exasperated). “When I’m shouting like this, I don’t know what I want.”
“Introspection! The lad is advanced for his age,” I thought. “Would you like to throw some pennies into the turtle fountain?” I asked.
“Okay, Dan.” He replied.
In the last week or so, I’ve begun to notice boxes piling up in the house. We are moving. And this time, we’re actually sorting through (and getting rid) of…
“Stuff, Nazy.” I explained. “We have too much stuff.”
“You kept the tax returns from 1986, Dan,” Nazy replied.
“I’m throwing them out now,” I retorted. “1986 — now that was a good year,” I thought.
“And why do we have two boxes of crumbled cement?”
“That’s the Berlin Wall, Nazy.”
“What about this laptop case?”
“That was for a Digital Equipment HiNote Ultra," I replied. “Early 90’s,” I thought.
We’ve thrown out (or recycled) several boxes of books, a huge number of cables for electronic devices that we no longer have, an equally large number of ancient electronic devices for which we’ve lost the cables, bank statements from our time in Holland (1989-1994) and a hockey puck…
“Not my lucky hockey puck, Nazy!” I exclaimed. “I caught that one in a Dartmouth game.”
“Caught it your teeth?” Nazy asked.
“The new house is much closer to the ocean. In fact, it has an ocean view. It is, accordingly, away from the fire and mudslide prone parts of Santa Barbara. In fact..
“It’s in the tsunami and meteor strike area,” I explained to Nazy.
“Meteor strike?” She asked. “How has that risk changed?”
“I am so glad you asked, my dear. More than two-thirds of the planet is covered by water. Thus: it is twice as likely that a meteor will land in the ocean rather than on land. Ergo, ipso facto, quod erat demonstrandum it follows that a house close to the ocean has a higher chance of being hit by a meteor strike. Consequently, we could all die when we’re hit.”
Braving the danger, Nazy and I will begin moving July 21st — the day before our anniversary.
On a totally unrelated subject, fans of James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, the two US Presidents vying for label as ‘worst ever’, have concluded that both have been easily dislodged.
On a happier note, images of Arrow follow.
For last week's letter, please click here
Arrow chasing his toy car 
Dan and Arrow Swimming
blog comments powered by Disqus