What Else Can I Forget?

With summer rapidly winding to a close, we decided to take a short 1 night camping trip to Ashurst Lake. We loaded the truck with all the essentials, rented a 2 burner Coleman style (Brinkman brand) camp stove from the good folks at NAU Outdoors and headed out to Ashurst Lake. We arrived at the campground and set up camp when my daughter held up the jar of bait and exclaimed "Now we get to put hooks on the fishing poles!" My mind loaded the image of my tackle box sitting in the front of the garage so I would have to step over it when I walked in front of the truck before getting in the drivers seat. That and I would put the new jar of bait that we just bought in it before I put it in the truck. My mind loaded the image of my walking behind the truck before getting in the drivers seat. My mouth loaded the response of "Oh, crap." So I headed off to the Lake Mary Store to pay the you should have remembered this before coming fishing prices for some hooks. I got back to campsite and we headed off to the lake. At the lake, I realized that bobbers would have been nice. No, I didn't go back to the store. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. Our daughter was too beat to continue and was asleep by 8:00 As bedtime for the adults rolled around, I suddenly remembered that campgrounds like this one have dueling RV generators and a passel of peons partying past 11:00. Although there were fewer than 7 out of 25 spots occupied, and our nearest neighbor was 75 feet away, I felt as if we were in a colege dorm during the first week of school. It finally got quiet enough to listen to the coyotes serenade us off to dream land. I love the sound of barking/howling coyotes, it sooths me and frees me of the thoughts of the material world I spend too much time in. Our two dogs were too beat to respond - most of the time. Despite the antics of the absent minded chemist, it was a great time, and a perfect end to the summer. Reality hits on Thursday when our daughter starts the fourth grade. Oh, and a reminder to all parents out there: take the kids fishing/camping - Andy and Opie will bless you for it.

Finally! Really, FINALLY!

After months of struggling, we FINALLY broke down and took our daughter and her bike to a park with a gentle grassy slope for bike riding practice. The trip began with our daughter telling me NOT to put her bike in the van because she wasn't going to practice. When she found out her bike was in the van, she protested loudly and insisted that she wasn't going to ride her bike, but instead play with her friend that was with us. When we got to the park she complained that she didn't get to play, but instead had to practice her "stupid old bike." Her friend and I went off to the playground while our daughter and Patty (the other third of the family unit) went of to the other part of the park so Kim could practice riding her stupid old bike that she was NEVER going to learn to ride. Less than 5 minutes later, this happened.

Now That's Relaxation

It is not too frequent that I have a day when I do next to nothing. My big accomplishment for the day was cleaning the kitchen sink. I was amazed to discover that it is white, not coffee stain brown, with other foods highlights. I feel so proud. The good news is I wasn't even watching T.V., just napping. I'm telling myself it is my reward for riding my bicycle home yesterday.

Where Architects Dare

Some of my favorite buildings/structures in the U.S.

Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe, NM

Chrysler Building, NYC

Seattle Space Needle

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO. (rent the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper")

The "older" part of the Denver Art Museum

The now defunct Columbia Savings in Boulder circa 1973-1990. It was sort of a smashed truncated octahedron on stilts.

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde NP

Fallingwater

When Diversity Goes Too Far.

Rejected Ideas for Fast Food Chains:

Dieter's Dumpling Den (Dieter is a name, not an activity)

Manny's Menudo Mesa

Lars's Lutefisk Lounge

Brenda's Barbecued Bovine Brains

Somchai's Seasoned Seaweed

Calling Dr. Dolittle

I need to learn to speak dog. Our black whoozawhazit is desperately trying to communicate with me, making a series of half grunt and guttural sounds as she sets her head on my lap. The funny thing is my wife is sitting next to me, and she has no computer on her lap, so why does Bear prefer to talk to me? Maybe my life if a hallucination and I am really not human, but a dog. If this is true, what type of dog am I? I will take votes, but all frou frou/froo froo suggestions will be disqualified. I remind those who may suggest pansy breeds that I have access to a venerable pharmacopoeia of elements, concoctions and substances that may appear in your beverages. Certain hormones that cause funny things to happen to the gender of various species of animals come to mind.

Heavy Reflections

One of the characters in Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 stated that one should live one's life as if one were to die within 10 seconds. Given that one can suddenly die on a bus in Manitoba, this carries a lot of truth. I wish the family, friends, and loved ones of Tim McLean deep peace and love. I thank all carneys everywhere for allowing young children to win every time. (I have a daughter who manages to win every time.) Seriously, Peace and Love! - A winner every time.