October Fun!

Here are some pics from Mia's and Gina's visit this past few days. As usual, time flew way too fast!
We got to visit with family, pick apples, watch some Hallowe'en videos, eat apples with homemade caramel dipping sauce, go shopping and celebrate a birthday (Mia's 19th, on October 30).

It was windy and chilly when we went to pick apples, but we had lots of fun!

We warmed up in the store, taking time for some hot chocolate and apple cider and some donuts and apple filled cookies!

Happy Birthday Mia!

BOO!

Melting Ice, Falling Leaves and a Birthday

It's nice and warm in here, but outside it's overcast and it looks cold. Maybe hearing the furnace running makes me think it's colder than it really is. Mia and Gina are coming into town tonight to visit for 5 days. Mia's 19th Birthday is on Monday and with her birthday and Hallowe'en the next day, it has always made for one of the most fun times of the year! She and Gina have a "calendar of events" that they made up well over a month ago. We'll be apple picking, carving pumpkins, eating gummi finger french fries and crunchy ooze filled candy bugs and watching lots of Hallowe'en movies.

As I was making my Reliv shake this morning, I noticed one of the ice cube trays needed to be emptied...the cubes looked like they had been in the freezer too long and needed replacing. I emptied the cubes into the sink and decided (as I have time and again over many years since I was a kid) to run some hot water to watch them melt. I know it's a waste of energy, but I figured it's ok in the name of a "science demonstration". As the ice was melting, I began to get all philosophical and weird. "Now what am I observing?", I asked myself. And the answer came quickly, "The passage of time."

We will be celebrating Mia's 19th Birthday with a cake while she is here. And we will do some of the Hallowe'en things that we've always done over the years. While Mia was being born in the upstairs bedroom, Joe and Adele were taping a Disney TV (DTV) music video show, done like MTV. It had all Hallowe'en songs or spooky type songs, put to Disney animation. We're going to watch that too . . . one of our favorite traditions.

I like when traditions tie it all together. Traditions are the things we do to enjoy ourselves and each other as the ice melts. One thing Mia won't be wearing as she blows out the candles on her cake, is that little black plastic witches hat that she wore on her First Birthday. And Nana won't be here to wash her hands even before they need washing. But . . . we're going to have a lot of fun and eat lots of junky candy and sing, "Sweet dreams are made of this . . . "

Orlando Magic

That pizza did me in! Had a great time and great weather, in the 80s the whole time!

Had some GREAT dinners...

Met some old friends . . .
Visited family . . .




Made some new friends . . .

Went to a party . . .

Now I'm home to rest!

M - I - C . . . See you real soon . . .

See you all next week!

May I suggest a weird movie?

I love movies. My whole family does. We're a little nuts...always doing quotes from movies. Sometimes people just respond with a blank stare when they have no idea what we're saying. I know. It's sick. But it's fun! There are so many great movies with some great lines; perfect in some situations.
I used to work at a movie theater....18 screens....I got to see a LOT of movies. I used to give weekly reviews for my co-workers at my full time job. I'm building up my DVD movie collection slowly. I love comedies, horror movies, sci fi, movies with a twist or weird approach, and horror movies (but not the sicko ones too close to reality, like where people are cut up with saws and such. Although I did like that scene in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? where the car is in front of the gate and runs into....oh, never mind).

Soooooooo, I thought maybe I'd give my random off the cuff Columbus Day movies I love and recommend list. In no particular order or even a semblance of organization:

Big Business - one of my all time favorite comedies. Wow! Two Bette Midlers and two Lily Tomlins! Who woulda thought?
Bubba Ho-Tep - Home for the aged...and who lives there? Why, both Elvis Presley and JFK! And why does that Egyptian mummy keep visiting? I can tell you he's not coming to feed his mom some pudding!

A Mighty Wind, Best in Show & Waiting for Guffman - if you've never seen any of these movies, what are you waiting for? Great ensemble cast...most of the same actors in all three movies. If you liked Spinal Tap, you'll love these.
Donny Darko - I was curious about this movie and just watched it recently. VERY strange, but I loved it!
The Brady Bunch Movies 1 & 2: I hated the TV show but loved these spoofs.
Edward Scissorhands - a Tim Burton world; and what movie with Johnny Depp isn't good?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I love the twisted in and out of the mind in this one. Reminded me of Being John Malkovich, another good one.
Adaptation - Two Nicholas Cages. Wait...was that one real or imagined? I still don't know.
Equilibrium - 1984 meets the Matrix. Not great, but I got the same feelings as when I first read 1984.

I [Heart] Huckabees - for anyone who has ever been in therapy....hysterical!
Hero and House of Flying Daggers - great choreography, scenery, music, action.
House of Sand and Fog - talk about depressing...a Greek (or is it Iranian?) tragedy.
Kung Fu Hustle - funny and sweet story...a live comic book!

Kill Bill 1 & 2 - gotta love that Uma Thurmann!
Little Miss Sunshine - cute and funny story!

Radioland Murders - non stop action, laughs, period music and performances.
Serenity - funny sort of update of the original Star Wars movies
Sliding Doors - the plot takes two different pathways and intersects back and forth thru the movie.
Shawn of the Dead - comedy, horror, drama all blended into one.
Sin City - creepy, gory, sick, but sooooo well done.
The Sixth Sense - boy! I did not see that coming!
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - reminded me of the days when we used to lay on the floor in front of that big ole radio listening to the serials....oh no....that was way before my time!
Snatch - I could not understand a word of it.

So, there you have it. A random list of randomly good movies that I like. Don't forget the pop corn!

Sunday in the Park with Richard . . .

What a beautiful autumn day! Leaves have not reached peak yet, but the flowers were nice and the air was warm! These were all taken in Washington Park, Albany, NY, Sunday, October 8, 2006 Enjoy!

The Moses Fountain.

The reflection in the lake seemed so clear and still.

Too bad this won't last!

History Test . . . Times up! . . . Hand in your papers.

Another question in my "A Father's Legacy" journal asks, "Have you ever believed so strongly in a cause that you marched in a rally or demonstrated in protest? What was the cause? Why was it important to you?"

It was the spring of my senior year at Syracuse, May 1970. The United States was deeply entrenched (Boys and girls, can you say "quagmire"?) in the Viet Nam War. The country was divided and tempers flared up frequently between the 'hawks' and the 'doves'. "America! Love it or Leave it!" was often directed at those 'hippy protesters'. And many youth, in response to the military draft: "Hell, no! We won't go!"

President Nixon had just issued orders for the US to bomb and invade Cambodia. This caused college campuses across the nation to erupt in protests. At Kent State University in Ohio, the National Guardsmen were called in to control the demonstrators. In the midst of the protests, the Guard fired on the demonstrators resulting in four people being killed. This became a battle cry for further and more intense demonstrations.

At Syracuse, as at many colleges and universities, students went on strike, setting up barricades and occupying campus buildings. Things were a mess. Strike headquarters were set up, and students wore 'Strike' armbands. To some, it was serious business...to others, it was the 'cool' thing to do. No matter what, something needed to be done. Our voices needed to be heard. It was the youth of the country who were being shipped off to this war. [Note as a reference: at that time, you could not vote until you were 21. This was lowered to 18 by the 26Th Amendment to the Constitution in 1971.]

We marched, made signs, attended rallies and watched the news. Did it do any good? Well, at least we felt we were doing something. The atmosphere in the spring of my senior year was light years away from the complacent Beach Boy surfer party environment of 1966. It was now acid rock and hippies and many turned to "Turn on. Tune in. Drop out." We were trying to say, "Wake up America!" Things were a mess!

But, I guess all things are relative. It is now 2006. Do we learn nothing?

A Spare Bowler

One of the recent topics in my "A Father's Legacy" journal asked the question: How would you finish this sentence? "One thing my dad always said was . . ."

Easy . . . "A spare bowler is your best bowler."

From when I was little, I remember my Dad used to bowl. As a kid, I never understood what that phrase meant. I mean, after all, aren't strikes better than spares? You get higher scores with strikes. They get all the attention.

I don't know when I finally understood. Maybe it was after always leaving so many pins standing. Maybe it was after that ZERO game I bowled? Too bad they didn't have those bumpers back then. I could have used them and saved a ton of humiliation! I finally realized that if you could knock over pins left standing, no matter how divided or spread out... to have that much control over the ball placement, to have it strike in the right spot to knock over all of the remaining pins . . . you were really good! And what a sense of accomplishment to see no pins left standing!

Maybe you could stretch this and apply it to life in some way. To be able to face what life deals to you or the mess you might have made of things, and not give up, no matter how difficult the "split" may be. Maybe you won't get that strike with the first roll. But you get another chance . . . go for it! It feels so good when you stick with it and make it!

Sun, Christmas Shopping and Italy...

What a beautiful autumn day Wednesday was! Sunny, around 70 degrees... I sure could take this weather for another couple of months! It was nice getting outside .... and what a perfect day to begin Christmas shopping! As my oldest daughter Adele always says, "It's never too early."

In fact, in my recent letter from Adele, (she is currently serving a mission in the Midwest for her church) she mentioned the new release of The Little Mermaid in a limited edition DVD...so...I got that to put away for her for when she gets home just before Christmas 2007! And I bought some Christmas ornaments for all of the children ... that is a family tradition that goes back to when we first became a family. Plus, this weekend Hallmark is having their annual Christmas Open House, and I'm afraid that the ornaments that I want may get all taken if I wait. Sound like the voice of experience?

I can't believe that the calendar kiosks are in the malls already! I bought another vintage Hawaiian art calendar for the kitchen. Got me in the mood for travel too! I went to the new Borders store at Crossgates and browsed the travel section. I picked up the DK Eyewitness Travel guide of Italy. As an extra bonus...it was 30% off! And to complete my purchase, I bought a big wall map of Italy. Sounds like I may be planning something? It's never too early!

Green Thumb?

As anyone who has been to my apartment knows....I don't have much of a green thumb. I think if any of my plants survive, as my old math teacher used to say, "it's not because of me, but in spite of me." Water? Do they need that?

I have some plants that seem to do extremely well. And I have others that start out green and bushy and strong, and end up as just twigs. My Christmas cactus has a mind of it's own. It blooms whenever it wants. I've had flowers on it at Christmas, Easter, and sometimes on Mummers Parade Day. Maybe they don't like the grandfather clock chiming at all hours? I try to talk nicely to them. I even try to vary the music I play. Is Twisted Sister soothing music for them? I don't know. They seem to like Nice Inch Nails.

At work today, the manager was pulling down the artificial flower arrangements from the walls. I guess we're updating the decor in the branch. There were two large potted real plants near the back door, being put out in the trash. Hmmmmm, I thought....perfect specimens for me to kill! Just before closing, we loaded the plants into the back of my jeep...back window rolled up, back seat folded up. Both plants, a Ficus Benjamina and a Schefflera are over 6 feet tall. I felt like my jeep had turned into a jungle for the brief ride home.

Both of them are now settled down in their new home. Hopefully, they will flourish. Now, I know that Ficus Benjamina's tend to shed their leaves. My last Fiscus Benjamina 'bush' would make fine kindling wood, but since I don't have a fireplace, it's waiting at the curb for garbage pickup. Maybe Charlie Brown will find it and nurse it back to health.

Stay tuned...maybe a future post will contain pictures of a robust forest in my dining room, or an obituary.

Study Hall...Silence Please!

Last night I received an email message from a friend from high school who has been living on the West Coast for some time now. Somehow, we've become a bit closer over this past year and a half, exchanging emails and keeping up on some of the things going on in our lives.

In this most recent email, she had some questions about an upcoming class reunion, and if in fact, there was going to be one. She had stumbled upon a message posted on a site from one of our classmates who now lives in Reno. In our subsequent email exchange, I informed her that I had emailed this other classmate, and that the reunion would most likely not be held this fall, but would be in the spring, thus making it a 41st Year Reunion. In some way, she was relieved....because in her preparation, she had been eating only radishes for 3 months and had only lost 3 pounds. Now, she was heading to the kitchen to open one of the giant bags of Pirate of the Caribbean peanut M&Ms!

This most recent exchange reminded me of some of the antics we did back when we were in high school. One incident that I always remember was when a bunch of us had been scheduled for study hall in the cafeteria during the same period near the end of the day. The teachers monitoring that period were newer underclass teachers, so didn't really know any of us. The cafeteria had padded seats on both sides with tables and wooden cafe style chairs, and in the middle of the room, the tables were arranged in 3 or 4 long rows. Each student was spaced far enough apart to "discourage" talking.

We decided that to sit together we would have to change our last names so that each one began with a particular letter. One friend had already given his last name and it began with 'S', so by default, we decided on 'S'. Each of us kept our own last name, but just changed the first letter to an 'S'. Talk about being obvious! Well....the monitors didn't blink, and we all ended up sitting together. As the days went on, we would sit together and talk. Hey! We were upperclassmen! And, one by one we were separated because we were talking. But the fun part was that students who were 'disciplined', were made to sit over at the side of the cafeteria on the padded seating. And one by one, we were all re-united in the "detention" area...and were able to chat away! Ah, life was simple and sweet!