Earth Day Blue Chalk Surfs with Candles and Tennis
15-05-19 23:31 Grandchildren,Family Humor
While Tom and Melika were in Los Angeles. I took Tiger and Arrow to Earth Day celebrations here in Santa Barbara. (Nazy was playing with Azelle.) I tried to explain the concept as we drove into town..
“.. so we are going to Earth Day, Arrow. Does that sound like fun?”
“I want to blow out the candles.” Arrow replied.
“Not birthday, Arrow!” Tiger interrupted. “Earth Day.”
“Birthday cake.” Arrow replied. “I like candles.”
Arrow got the message when we arrived at the Park. Tiger tried his hand balancing on a surf board that was ‘floating’ on top of a giant hemispherical ball. (A surf school was recruiting students — a natural for Earth Day since surf boards don’t have motors.) Arrow found a big blackboard with a bucket full of chalk — chalk of every color. Arrow drew some, well, arrows. Then he went to get Tiger. While he was gone, a high school student, picked up the blue chalk and began drawing a small picture on an unused portion of the black board. Arrow came back with Tiger. He saw the high schooler.
“I need that color.” Arrow said marching toward the student.
The high schooler, a young lady about 15 years old, just looked at Arrow.
“I need that color.” Arrow repeated.
“There is a blue chalk in the bucket, Arrow.” I interrupted.
“I want that..” Arrow began.
“Let’s go watch Tiger on the surfboard,” I countered.
“But I don’t want to..” Tiger began — and then he stopped. “Oh! That’s a good idea, Dan. Come on Arrow.”
Arrow has gotten to be increasingly vocal of late. While driving him home from school on Thursday, I had a running commentary about the local area..
“That’s the cupcake store, Dan.” He announced as we passed Crush Cakes, Inc. “Mommy’s Office.” He continued: “The M&M Store”
“That’s a 7-11,” I replied.
“Ice Cream store.” Arrow countered before quickly following up: “Look at that McDonalds, Dan.” and “Donut Store!”
“The lad has inherited some of my genes,” I thought.
A week or so ago, Nazy and I drove to San Francisco to help Shahriar celebrate his birthday. The drive was uneventful but..
“… “ ;uneventful’ is very rare,”I explained. “Uneventful means ‘no traffic jams’ and I believe that this was the first time that happened. So, ‘uneventful’ doesn’t mean ‘unusual’.”
“The event, Dan,” Nazy explained with a sigh, “Was Shahriar’s birthday party.”
Nazy’s sister, Shahrzad, joined us for the party, which was in Los Gatos and featured Persian music and lots of friends. Later, we enjoyed the beautiful view from Shahriar’s home.
“Did you ask me if you could grow up?”
“You just have to be careful Dan.”
“Me? Careful? Why? It’s not my head.”
Tiger is getting confident with his physical activity. In swimming, he’s learned the backstroke and the butterfly. He’s learned to ‘pump’ on the swing and now he’s started …
“.. tennis lessons, Tiger?” I asked.
“Yep. I have tennis shoes.”
“I think you play tennis with two people, so you should have gotten twois shoes.”
“No, Dan.”
“Well how many feet do you have, Tiger?” I asked.
“I have two feet.”
“That’s why you need ‘twois’ shoes.”
“NO DAN.”
“And I like to win, so I always bought ‘one-is’ shoes.” I concluded, satisfied that I’d left the lad befuddled, bewildered, bedazzled and bemused.
“Dan says I need twois shoes!” Tiger told Nazy as soon as we got home. Nazy was be-autiful
And, finally, another week, another school shooting or two. It has become so common that elected officials don’t even offer their (pointless) thoughts and prayers anymore. Do we really want to live in a country with weekly school shootings? Do we really think that having armed guards at schools makes things safer? (Before you answer, note that the guard in Colorado shot and injured a student and a policeman.) If you want to make the case that ‘an armed citizenry will prevent a despot from taking over the country’, then at least accept the consequences of this approach: murder rates higher than any other industrialized country. And, while you’re at it, if you’re anti-abortion rights, how can you simultaneously be pro-separating children from their parents? And doesn’t it feel a little awkward to have supported 9 investigations of Hilary while refusing to internalize the results of the one about the current ‘president’? Medical Research is required to inoculate against a virulent virus called DBVPs (disintegrating backbone/vanishing principle syndrome) that is spreading through the country. It primarily affects elected Republicans.
“.. so we are going to Earth Day, Arrow. Does that sound like fun?”
“I want to blow out the candles.” Arrow replied.
“Not birthday, Arrow!” Tiger interrupted. “Earth Day.”
“Birthday cake.” Arrow replied. “I like candles.”
Arrow got the message when we arrived at the Park. Tiger tried his hand balancing on a surf board that was ‘floating’ on top of a giant hemispherical ball. (A surf school was recruiting students — a natural for Earth Day since surf boards don’t have motors.) Arrow found a big blackboard with a bucket full of chalk — chalk of every color. Arrow drew some, well, arrows. Then he went to get Tiger. While he was gone, a high school student, picked up the blue chalk and began drawing a small picture on an unused portion of the black board. Arrow came back with Tiger. He saw the high schooler.
“I need that color.” Arrow said marching toward the student.
The high schooler, a young lady about 15 years old, just looked at Arrow.
“I need that color.” Arrow repeated.
“There is a blue chalk in the bucket, Arrow.” I interrupted.
“I want that..” Arrow began.
“Let’s go watch Tiger on the surfboard,” I countered.
“But I don’t want to..” Tiger began — and then he stopped. “Oh! That’s a good idea, Dan. Come on Arrow.”
Arrow has gotten to be increasingly vocal of late. While driving him home from school on Thursday, I had a running commentary about the local area..
“That’s the cupcake store, Dan.” He announced as we passed Crush Cakes, Inc. “Mommy’s Office.” He continued: “The M&M Store”
“That’s a 7-11,” I replied.
“Ice Cream store.” Arrow countered before quickly following up: “Look at that McDonalds, Dan.” and “Donut Store!”
“The lad has inherited some of my genes,” I thought.
A week or so ago, Nazy and I drove to San Francisco to help Shahriar celebrate his birthday. The drive was uneventful but..
“… “ ;uneventful’ is very rare,”I explained. “Uneventful means ‘no traffic jams’ and I believe that this was the first time that happened. So, ‘uneventful’ doesn’t mean ‘unusual’.”
“The event, Dan,” Nazy explained with a sigh, “Was Shahriar’s birthday party.”
Nazy’s sister, Shahrzad, joined us for the party, which was in Los Gatos and featured Persian music and lots of friends. Later, we enjoyed the beautiful view from Shahriar’s home.
Tiger has also been doing lots of exciting things. He has designed, and drew a picture of, the cake that he wants for his birthday in July. He continues to zip around the Nirvana driveway on his scooter. And at swimming..
“Ouch! Be careful, Dan.” Tiger exclaimed. “You banged the locker door on my head.”
“That’s because you grew up, Tiger.” I replied. “I used to be able to open the top locker without having it hit your head.”
“Dan..”
“Were you standing on your tip toes?”
“No, Dan.”
“Did you ask me if you could grow up?”
“You just have to be careful Dan.”
“Me? Careful? Why? It’s not my head.”
Tiger is getting confident with his physical activity. In swimming, he’s learned the backstroke and the butterfly. He’s learned to ‘pump’ on the swing and now he’s started …
“.. tennis lessons, Tiger?” I asked.
“Yep. I have tennis shoes.”
“I think you play tennis with two people, so you should have gotten twois shoes.”
“No, Dan.”
“Well how many feet do you have, Tiger?” I asked.
“I have two feet.”
“That’s why you need ‘twois’ shoes.”
“NO DAN.”
“And I like to win, so I always bought ‘one-is’ shoes.” I concluded, satisfied that I’d left the lad befuddled, bewildered, bedazzled and bemused.
“Dan says I need twois shoes!” Tiger told Nazy as soon as we got home. Nazy was be-autiful
And, finally, another week, another school shooting or two. It has become so common that elected officials don’t even offer their (pointless) thoughts and prayers anymore. Do we really want to live in a country with weekly school shootings? Do we really think that having armed guards at schools makes things safer? (Before you answer, note that the guard in Colorado shot and injured a student and a policeman.) If you want to make the case that ‘an armed citizenry will prevent a despot from taking over the country’, then at least accept the consequences of this approach: murder rates higher than any other industrialized country. And, while you’re at it, if you’re anti-abortion rights, how can you simultaneously be pro-separating children from their parents? And doesn’t it feel a little awkward to have supported 9 investigations of Hilary while refusing to internalize the results of the one about the current ‘president’? Medical Research is required to inoculate against a virulent virus called DBVPs (disintegrating backbone/vanishing principle syndrome) that is spreading through the country. It primarily affects elected Republicans.
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