Tiger measures Alphabetical Wurlitzer sliding cardboard
It was just about bedtime and I was reading a book to Tiger..
“No,” Tiger interrupts, “I was reading a book to you.”
“That’s right, Tiger, you were reading Dr. Suess to me.”
“It was ‘I Can Read With My Eyes Shut’, Dan.” Tiger concluded.
“Of course,” I replied. “I’m not sure whether you were reading the book or if you’d memorized it," I thought.
Tiger was in full-blown performance mode [“..and I can read Mississippi with my eyes shut tight..”] when a text arrived from..
“It’s from Tokyo, Tiger.” I explained. “Your Dad wants to see if the giraffe he’s looking at will fit into the house.”
“Why does that little cat have his mouth in a triangle, Dan.” Tiger replied, clearly unimpressed.
“I don’t know, but we need to measure..”
“I know where the measurer is, Dan. I can help.”
Tiger and I made (and texted) the desired measurements and than, under Tiger’s direction we branched out. We measured his puzzles, his shoes, his Mother’s Day card and..
“Why don’t we measure the table?” I asked.
“That’s a great idea.” Tiger replied and, after a bit of work he shouted out the result: 108.
“Now we can measure a towel,” I suggested.
“I was thinking of that too,” Tiger replied.
“And then, why don’t we measure your bed?”
“We can measure the Dr. Seuss book, Dan.”
While Melika and Tom were away, Tiger’s pre-school hosted a Mother’s Day brunch and, a couple of days later, a Grandparent’s Day party. Nazy went to the Mother’s Day event. Arrow joined us both at the Grandparents Day celebration which included, not only a singing and dancing performance by the children, but also a ‘pancake cafe’ that was a special highlight for Tiger and Arrow. (And me.)
There is one small building in the campus that they repurpose on a regular basis: It has been a flower shop, a rescue helicopter and now..
“… it’s an office,” Tiger explained.
“An office?” I replied. “Like Mommy’s?”
“Yes,”
“Does it have a jar full of candy?”
“No, Dan. We don’t have candy at school.”
“But Mommy’s office has candy. Can you ask your teacher?”
“No Dan. That’s not a good idea.”
While Tiger was at the office, Arrow, who will begin pre-school in September, was exploring. He specially likes the alphabet… and he wasn’t disappointed.
I am not exaggerating Arrow’s fasciation with the alphabet. He ‘knows’ all of the letters by sight, points them out when he sees them on walks, has a couple of alphabet puzzles that are a snap for a letter wizard like him. His ‘word’ skill continues to accelerate. Unprompted, he pointed out the ‘lichen’ on the wall while we were walking to the Mission Park. And, at restaurants…
“Where he’s not especially good at sitting on his booster chair,” Nazy interjects.
“Right, my dear. So, I spend a lot of time strolling with him between the tables. His favorite thing is the genuine Wurlitzer bubbling jukebox at Joe’s Cafe on State Street. But his next most favorite is spotting the
“Exit sign!” Arrow exclaims. Frequently.
This week I got a very frightening Final Notice! postal letter which arrived in what appeared to be a very official (e.g. government) envelope. It claimed to be my very last chance to
“Refinance and consolidate my student loans,” I explained to Nazy.
“Student loans?”
“I paid the last one more than 40 years ago,” I replied. “I hope I paid the last one 40 years ago,” I thought.
“Did Georgia Tech finally track you down?” Nazy asked.
Somehow Nazy and I also found time to take the car to Thousand Oaks for service… ‘while you wait’. It turns out that there is not a lot to do in Thousand Oaks (while you wait). As we strolled through the ‘city’, Nazy noted that I needed a hat. (It is very sunny in California.) I immediately turned into a nearby Thrift Store where I not only found a hat, but also a memory jog for the 1960s. We decided to splurge on the $2 ..
We also had time to take Tiger and Arrow to the Park. Both of them like flowers, but picking flowers is forbidden… except for clover.
Tom and Melika bought an ‘impossible’ jigsaw puzzle before they left for the Far East. Nazy, who laughs at impossible jigsaw puzzles, somehow found time to …
“… almost it together. One piece is missing.”
We’re not sure where the missing piece has gone, but we suspect the cat — who liked to sleep on top of the partially finished puzzle.
And, speaking of Tiger, the school has created an artificial, grass-covered hill. The top of the hill features a maze of nooks, crannies and caves for the kids to explore. The children also like to slide down the hill sort of like a wide slide. Lately, the children have discovered that they can slide faster if the sit on a piece of cardboard. But sitting…
“… gave way to standing, Nazy.” I noted. “I think he’s been watching his Dad on the snowboard.”
“It doesn’t look safe.” Nazy replied.
“That’s because he’s been standing like that for several seconds trying to get the cardboard to move.”
“But if it moves…”
“ …. he will fall off and roll down the hill,” I replied. Perceptively.
Arrow, watching closely, attempted to emulate his brother — missing only hill height and board position.
“No,” Tiger interrupts, “I was reading a book to you.”
“That’s right, Tiger, you were reading Dr. Suess to me.”
“It was ‘I Can Read With My Eyes Shut’, Dan.” Tiger concluded.
“Of course,” I replied. “I’m not sure whether you were reading the book or if you’d memorized it," I thought.
Tiger was in full-blown performance mode [“..and I can read Mississippi with my eyes shut tight..”] when a text arrived from..
“It’s from Tokyo, Tiger.” I explained. “Your Dad wants to see if the giraffe he’s looking at will fit into the house.”
“Why does that little cat have his mouth in a triangle, Dan.” Tiger replied, clearly unimpressed.
“I don’t know, but we need to measure..”
“I know where the measurer is, Dan. I can help.”
Tiger and I made (and texted) the desired measurements and than, under Tiger’s direction we branched out. We measured his puzzles, his shoes, his Mother’s Day card and..
“Why don’t we measure the table?” I asked.
“That’s a great idea.” Tiger replied and, after a bit of work he shouted out the result: 108.
“Now we can measure a towel,” I suggested.
“I was thinking of that too,” Tiger replied.
“And then, why don’t we measure your bed?”
“We can measure the Dr. Seuss book, Dan.”
While Melika and Tom were away, Tiger’s pre-school hosted a Mother’s Day brunch and, a couple of days later, a Grandparent’s Day party. Nazy went to the Mother’s Day event. Arrow joined us both at the Grandparents Day celebration which included, not only a singing and dancing performance by the children, but also a ‘pancake cafe’ that was a special highlight for Tiger and Arrow. (And me.)
There is one small building in the campus that they repurpose on a regular basis: It has been a flower shop, a rescue helicopter and now..
“… it’s an office,” Tiger explained.
“An office?” I replied. “Like Mommy’s?”
“Yes,”
“Does it have a jar full of candy?”
“No, Dan. We don’t have candy at school.”
“But Mommy’s office has candy. Can you ask your teacher?”
“No Dan. That’s not a good idea.”
While Tiger was at the office, Arrow, who will begin pre-school in September, was exploring. He specially likes the alphabet… and he wasn’t disappointed.
I am not exaggerating Arrow’s fasciation with the alphabet. He ‘knows’ all of the letters by sight, points them out when he sees them on walks, has a couple of alphabet puzzles that are a snap for a letter wizard like him. His ‘word’ skill continues to accelerate. Unprompted, he pointed out the ‘lichen’ on the wall while we were walking to the Mission Park. And, at restaurants…
“Where he’s not especially good at sitting on his booster chair,” Nazy interjects.
“Right, my dear. So, I spend a lot of time strolling with him between the tables. His favorite thing is the genuine Wurlitzer bubbling jukebox at Joe’s Cafe on State Street. But his next most favorite is spotting the
“Exit sign!” Arrow exclaims. Frequently.
This week I got a very frightening Final Notice! postal letter which arrived in what appeared to be a very official (e.g. government) envelope. It claimed to be my very last chance to
“Refinance and consolidate my student loans,” I explained to Nazy.
“Student loans?”
“I paid the last one more than 40 years ago,” I replied. “I hope I paid the last one 40 years ago,” I thought.
“Did Georgia Tech finally track you down?” Nazy asked.
Somehow Nazy and I also found time to take the car to Thousand Oaks for service… ‘while you wait’. It turns out that there is not a lot to do in Thousand Oaks (while you wait). As we strolled through the ‘city’, Nazy noted that I needed a hat. (It is very sunny in California.) I immediately turned into a nearby Thrift Store where I not only found a hat, but also a memory jog for the 1960s. We decided to splurge on the $2 ..
Dan and Nazy in Thousand Oaks
“You decided,” Nazy corrects. “I wanted you to get something that didn’t make your hair stick out in the back.”
“I voted for nostalgia,” I replied. “Anything that makes any part of my ‘hair’ more visible works for me,” I thought.
Nazy, not to be outdone, posed by a famous Thousand Oaks Barbecue equipment store.
We also had time to take Tiger and Arrow to the Park. Both of them like flowers, but picking flowers is forbidden… except for clover.
Tom and Melika bought an ‘impossible’ jigsaw puzzle before they left for the Far East. Nazy, who laughs at impossible jigsaw puzzles, somehow found time to …
“… almost it together. One piece is missing.”
We’re not sure where the missing piece has gone, but we suspect the cat — who liked to sleep on top of the partially finished puzzle.
And, speaking of Tiger, the school has created an artificial, grass-covered hill. The top of the hill features a maze of nooks, crannies and caves for the kids to explore. The children also like to slide down the hill sort of like a wide slide. Lately, the children have discovered that they can slide faster if the sit on a piece of cardboard. But sitting…
“… gave way to standing, Nazy.” I noted. “I think he’s been watching his Dad on the snowboard.”
“It doesn’t look safe.” Nazy replied.
“That’s because he’s been standing like that for several seconds trying to get the cardboard to move.”
“But if it moves…”
“ …. he will fall off and roll down the hill,” I replied. Perceptively.
Arrow, watching closely, attempted to emulate his brother — missing only hill height and board position.
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Tiger and Arrow on their boards
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