The 4th of July

We hit the road on the Fourth of July midday (after some packing delays) and were on our way.

The kids weren't the greatest on the way up, whining and fighting at times, but I reckon it's like taking them out to eat - you have to put up with some bumps in the road in order for them to learn what's expected of them in the future.

 

Lisa in particular made a valiant but futile effort to get them engaged in the two $5 road trip games we bought to entertain them. No way it was happening, you could see that as plain as day, but she kept plugging away, and a tip of the hat to her for that.

The day before I'd had new tires put on the van, and let me tell you that Ford drove like buttah!

.

Midway to our destination we stopped for fireworks

I spent $60 at the store (not including the $4 state permit I had to buy) and that was about $60 more then I'd ever spent on fireworks, since I have a nifty love for all my fingers. In fact that was the first time I'd ever set foot in such a place. But the fireworks up where we were going had taken place on the 3rd, and there was no way we were going an Independence Day without fireworks. Especially not Lump's first Fourth of July.

[Odd sidenote: This is a picture of a dead rat on the side of the highway. We'd stopped . . what was it for?? Oh, I think to regulate one of the kids' tantrums and this is what greeted me. First (and last?) time I've ever seen a rat.

End of creepy sidenote.]

After two hours or so we reached our destination.

Lisa's friend lives in a nice sized house with a backyard that leads to a private stretch of waterfront on a man-made lake.  It's fifteen minutes to the nearest store, and more than 40 minutes to the closest movie theater.

Predictably, everyone was in the water within minutes of arrival.

And then the kids took off to explore the neighborhood on their bikes. The neighbors have a farm with horses and a bull, and YaYa in particular would spend much of the weekend there with the 11 year old daughter of Lisa's friend. Weird, but even with a five year age difference they seemed inseparable. When I asked how that could be Lis shrugged off the age difference and said "They're the same, that's all"

Later, we had a barbeque of hot dogs and hamburgers topped off with cake.

Near nightfall we roasted marshmallows and made smores over the firepit

,

 then began our fireworks display. The kids themselves got nowhere near anything heftier than a sparkler, which even my paranoid Mom allowed back in the day.

The $60 proved well-spent, as it provided a decent and relatively long show. LuLu was especially happy that her "Unicorn" brand fountain was impressive.

Again, a very nice display.

Then the kids were off to bed and the four adults sat in the enclosed patio and drank, talked, and played dominoes as we were seranaded by bullfrogs(!) and the echo of fireworks across the lake.

Around midnight we all headed into the water for a starlight swim. I may or may not have have kept my swimsuit on (but I think you can hazard a guess). Alas I can assure you that either way no hanky-panky took place, despite a strident but polite attempt on my part. Something about cold water and shrinkage, I think Lisa told me . . I kid I kid.  

Lisa btw, labels this weekend one of the Top 10 experiences of her life. I don't rate it that high, but it was a blast.

More to come . .

Last Weekend

Howdy, I'm back. But before I barrage you with pics of this past holiday weekend, let's jump back in time to just after our visit to Shakey's.

After we had lunch we decided to go rummage sale shopping. Sadly, that's one of our favorite weekend activities. I search for books, my wife for kids clothes and trinkets, and the kids generally wander around making a pest of themselves. It's grand.

We didn't have much luck in the field that day so we hit the resale shops, where I scored some fine books. The kids made out too.

That's a shark in Smiley's hands, btw.

YaYa scored big at a rummage we hit late in the day. I bought her 18 Junie B Jones books for $13, fleshing out her collection quite a bit.

The next day we went out rummaging too, but had no luck whatsoever. We did however tour a lovely ranch home during an estate sale (those are always a little morbid, and usually pricey, but the merchandise is so eclectic it's hard to pass up. Plus there's the voyeur aspect of it all). I really liked the house and would have contemplated buying it if we were in the market, although it was big on perks and low on bedrooms - not good when you breed as I do.

Anyhow, when the rummages all petered out we wound up at a restaurant for the 4th day in a row, this time at Organ Piper Pizza.

The pizza joint features a large, early 20th century pipe organ that's the center of attention. It's as dark as a bar in there so excuse the poor pics.

The organist takes requests, and my girls often choose "Under the Sea" or "Over the Rainbow" and dance the afternoon away.

Smiley, meanwhile, had made fast friends with a boy from a family of 7 sitting nearby. The last of the five kids was conceived six months after a botched vasectomy - oopsie.

The restaurant also features a game room and small merry-go-round, which the kids enjoy.

There was one meltdown, but I don't remember who did the deed  (Smiley, I think) and overall a fine way to cap off a nice weekend. I returned to work the next day refreshed and rested.

An American Medley

Happy 4th of July!

In only a few hours the family and I will head 'up north der eh' to Northern Wisconsin to visit a friend who moved away last year. I expect I'll be out of touch for a few days but wanted to leave you with a tribute to this great country on our 232nd birthday. Credit Deslily's journal for giving me the idea.

Here's two clips of the incomparable Kate Smith. I remember listening as a kid to WOKY every 4th of July as they played 24 hours of patriotic music. Because of that I quickly became a fan of Ms. Smith. The second clip, from a NHL finals game played in 1976, features the 69 year old receiving a moving ovation as she takes the ice to belt out her signature tune.

Also from my memories of AM 620, John Wayne's moving spoken word piece on the country he loved and represented onscreen.

 

Here's a few clips of the great Jimmy Cagney. My Dad's always been a fan of Yankee Doodle Dandy and I can't say I fault his taste. Some parts of the film still bring tears of pride to my eyes. Check out the great tap down the stairs in this clip of 'Over There'.

 

 

Here's a black and white clip from the movie, this time of "It's a Grand Ol' Flag'

 

And the title song of the film. I'm not overly fond of the scene, but I include it in part because I think I detect Cagney doing some toe-tapping during the song, a tap-dance niche that my wife was researching recently.

And if you really want to see t the sacrifices that were necessary to obtain and keep our freedom, go rent Gettysburg. The famous battle was fought at this time 145 years ago. Some of the scenes in that movie reduce me to tears (as Lisa will tell you, patriotic movies and baseball are about the only things that manage to do that).

In particular the end of Pickett's charge, when the Union holds the line and the flag flies free, the South checked for the moment (and forever, as it turns out), or Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's heroic stand, preserving the Union flank even as his men ran out of ammunition and fixed bayonets to charge into history  . .wow.

Wow.

God bless everyone who contributed to this great land, and Happy Birthday America!

Mama's Boy - a Review

                           

There are some funny moments in Mama's Boy. Not a ton, mind you, and far between at times, but they are there.

(Look for Jeff Daniels' line: "Sometimes we confuse our fears with our fantasies Jeffrey". Classic!)

The plot is standard issue. A 29 year man still lives at home with his mom, but a new boyfriend has entered the mix and the son will stop at nothing to preserve his cushy, coddled life.

A positive: a stellar supporting cast. Diane Keaton (adorable as always - she looks just like my big high school crush, albeit not 15 or goth), Jeff Daniels (go Midwest!) and Eli Wallach.

A negative: for too much of the movie the cast seems to exhaust themselves keeping Jon Heder afloat. I liked Napoleon Dynamite; heck, I'd even vote for Pedro, but in this movie he played it too National Lampoon for my taste. It didn't work.

I'm still not sure what motivated Anna Faris' character to pine for Jeffrey, but hey, Lisa is the one that pursued me years back. I wasn't exactly a Happy Meal with fries at the time, so who's to say?

But I also take umbrage with the complete and utter co-dependency at the start of the film. Living at home at 29, tied to your Mom's apron strings, a virgin . . .ok, I cry for you, but I can see it. Living at home at 29 with all of the above and having your Mom wait for you at the bus stop and pack your lunch every day? Go on weekly 'dates' with her? Talk to her while dressed only in tight underwear with your (sock stuffed) goods highlighted?

No, no sirree.

Still there were those few good laughs, and Jeff Daniels rocked.

2.75 out of 4, 65 out of 100.

Farewell Shakey's!

On Saturday, as promised,  I took the family to Shakey's Pizza in West Allis just as they opened for the day. There's a whole lot of memories wrapped up in that place and we needed to say goodbye since it was closing for good on the 30th.

I don't know if there's a Shakey's near you, as there are only a few left east of the Mississippi (including one in Warner Robbins GA, home of our nephew). In spite of that fact there are still over 400 in the world, mostly in Asia, but only 60 of the 200+ US restaurants are still kicking.

According to the owner their long-time franchise contract was running out, and if they were to keep the name Shakey's wanted them to completely remodel and scrap the famous pizza buffet (GASP!). The owner, acting both on principle and with his depleted wallet, said no, he'd rather close his doors.

And so we lost yet another childhood institution here in Milwaukee.

We all sat down for the buffet, grabbed our drinks from the beverage bar, and had our bellies cry goodnight for some of the best pizza (and wall signs) around.

Shakey's also boasted a small but packed game room, complete with tickets that earned you those classic Oriental Trader prizes.

We kinda cheated on behalf of Smiley on the basketball game

But playing from the legit distance, yours truly sank 11 shots in a row. Booyah baby!

Along with other trinkets, YaYa selected a heart pendant that came in two pieces (you know the type). When you put both together it says 'best friends' and she gave the other half to LuLu.

From the small world department who should sit next to us but an old employee of mine, one I famously fired for not only sleeping on the job but making a makeshift tent to accomplish the task. Still, she was a pip and when YaYa was only two she went to a great birthday party for the woman's daughter. Here's a shot of them together five years later

And a pic of Lump from the ride home

Goodnight sweet Shakey's! We never did get to have one of our kid's parties with you - ah regret! We'll miss you!

Dinner out on Friday

Friday night, after YaYa came home from the hospital and we braved driving in a downpour, we took all the kids and their cousin out for dinner.

Our original intention was to visit Shakey's one last time, because that morning we'd read in the paper that it was closing its doors. But most of Milwaukee read of it too, and the line was out the door, so I promised my wife we'd go when they opened in the morning if we could just go somewhere else that night.

We wound up at Baker's Square.

A good meal all the way around, with some memorable moments. LuLu had me take turns coloring with her - she'd do one spot, then I'd do one, etc, which was sweet.

YaYa wanted to play tic-tac-toe, and damned if she didn't legitimately beat me in the first 4 of 5 contests! Time and again I thank God I went to college.

Lump ate like a champ, and Smiley, who is now completely potty-trained (and all on his own too!) asked me to take him to the restroom. While we were in there he whipped it out and used the urinal and I was so proud I told a guy at the sink the news.

But when I got back to the table Lis informed that not only wasn't it his first time using a urinal, it was the only way he'd pee at school.

"Huh," I said. "Makes the pictures I took seem kinda inappropriate now, eh?"

Again, a very good time. Their cousin stayed overnight and predictably they all caused trouble rather than go to sleep, but give me credit where it's due. I am slowly becoming less of a pushover and got them separated and asleep in short order.

Before bed the kids all watched The Wizard of Oz (remember?). They do this crazy thing whenever they watch a movie, tv show, commercial, or whatever. They immediately assign a role to each other ("I'm the Tinman" "I'm Dorothy!" etc) and often fight over it as if it truly matters.

To flesh out her 'role' of Toto LuLu grabbed a Halloween costume from the basement.

Which Smiley later appropriated

Finally, here's Lump and her cousin

The Savages - and I don't mean Chicagoans (this time)

                

I will never understand Hollywood's recent obsession with casting every movie as a hyphen-comedy. I suppose it must be out of fear that the public won't accept a pure drama or romance, or whatever, and so they must be lured in by a trailer sprinkled with funny lines.

The Savages is a perfect example. It was billed as a dark comedy, but it is anything but. Does it have some rare moments of humor? Sure, because it's realistic and in life all but the very worst moments can feature a smidgen of laughter. But a comedy by any definition? Not at all.

The movie tells the tale of a brother and sister who assume guardianship of their estranged father, now suffering from dementia and a fatal illness.  The brother, played by Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, is unable to commit to a woman he loves and is professionally stagnant, while the sister, ably played by Laura Linney, has no career and is sleeping with a married man. Together they must navigate the hurdles of caring for their Dad while adjusting to the abrupt re-introduction of family into their lives.

It is a grim movie in many ways, but solid and true to the path these characters would take in real life. Hoffman is just superb, a true craftsman, and it was a joy to watch him at work.

If there were any flaws, I'd have to say the subplot with the married man was a little too obvious an ode to the damage caused by her parent's violent marriage and subsequent abandonment.. But that, in all honesty, is 1/100th of the movie and barely worth a whisper of complaint.

3.5 stars out of 4, 80 out of 100

On Tim Rice, John Rambo, and a statement on religion to kick off July!

 I watched an unusual combination Monday. First, at YaYa's request she and a friend put on the 2000 Glenn Carter version of Jesus Christ Superstar.

I much prefer the light-hearted but spiritual Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I will say it again: Tim Rice's lyrics are what made these musicals, not Webber's music. But after viewing Superstar for the first time since the early '80's, I have to say it wasn't half bad.

It was too secular at times for my taste, never expliciting showing his divinity, but unlike contemporary protests about the musical I don't object to Judas' portrayal. I've always thought that there must be a more complex reason than greed behind the betrayal of his friend and mentor. Not an excuse mind you, but a reason, and the fears expressed in the movie are certainly one option.

Still, it got me thinking. To a degree I feel that anger towards Judas, at least in the here and now, is meaningless. At the time, sure, and I'm not saying he shouldn't rot in hell. But in hindsight he had his role to play, a neccessary one, and he fufilled it.

Was it preordained? Was he chosen as an apostle with the knowledge that it would set in motion these events? Did his betrayal change the dynamic of the group to such an extent that Simon Peter was free to ascend to a leadership role as head of the church? How would the group and the church have evolved if another had been the betrayer? Was he acting of free will (my vote) or asa pawn of the drama that was to unfold? If the latter he must be absolved of the sin, for he was not acting of his own voltion. And on the cross, when Jesus asked his Father to forgive those who killed him, wouldn't that include Judas' soul?

As for the movie itself, I thought the actor who played Judas was superb, Glenn Carter's Jesus less so, and the actress playing Mary Magdalene (patron saint of the church where I was married) was both beautiful and gifted with an equally impressive voice.

* * * *

                                          

And then, in a 180 degree turnaround, I watched Rambo (alone). This time Rambo escorts a group of Christian missionaries into war torn Burma, and when they face enslavement and torture he does what he does best to get them out.

Allright: first off, Stallone is a heck of a director. Forget his writing (which can be great or poor, depending on the day) and his acting. As a director I think he staged this movie beautifully and artfully, and kudos to him on that.

On the other hand it was bloody as hell and featured 3x as many killings as the other Rambo flicks combined, at least according to an internet source.

I will go on record though as saying that it seems far less violent than its predecessors, in part because very little of the violence (none that I can think of actually) is for sh**'s and giggles.

The persecution of Burmese Christians is brutal and repressive, but CERTAINLY far gentler than the reality some of the people there face. The rescue attempt is matter of fact without excess gore, and the finale . . well there's not much you can say to soften the finale. It makes Saving Private Ryan seem like Toy Story,  but it's a legitimate battle between two large groups, not a one man wrecking crew.

Rambo's character is changed by the events of the movie, as is the character of the missionaries.It's a shame the villian is never fleshed out, because it had the makings of a decent flick.

3 out of 4, 75 out of 100. MUCH better than I expected. 

* * *

Let me say something else. I don't care what your religious beliefs are. I'm Catholic and I have friends and acquaintances who are Pentecostal, Atheist, Agnostic, Mormon, Muslim, Hindu, and Lutheran. Live and let live.

But not everyone feels that way, and time and again I'm struck by the naivety of good people. It's the old example of expecting someone to tell the truth just because you yourself  would never lie in that situation. That's foolish, and just a fancy way of projecting your beliefs and mindset on someone else.

Our own tolerance of other religions in no way guarantees the same respect in return.

At the risk of sounding like a religious nut* I do feel Christianity is under attack and that the majority of believers sit by and let it happen. Across the globe Christians are persecuted and killed and we gloss over it, either because Christians were 'responsible' for such killings in centuries(!) past and we have a guilt complex, or because it isn't PC to just flat out say: Hey, Muslims are killing Christians in X and Communists are doing the same in Y. And heaven forbid we object when someone says "And, oh, by the way, don't you dare talk about Christ but um, I'm gonna wear my veil to work so, uh, tough."

Even here at home we suck it up, afraid of sounding like some old bitty that sends her pension check to the 700 Club. My favorite lurking ground over at Baseball Think Factory recently had a message board thread that wandered off into religious ground. Of the nearly 100 comments I read many were apathetic towards or slightly against Christianity . A vocal minority was VERY anti-Christian. Not anti-religion, but strictly and explicity anti-Christian. On a baseball site.

They listed many of the tired 'guilt' reasons of old, ranging from the Templars to the American West, but in the end it's all crap.**

It's just  cool to bash Christianity because we roll over just swell, like a well trained doggie.

Ugh. Stand your ground. If one of my agnostic friends wanders off into anti-Christian statements, I won't back off a debate. When the Pentecostals get frisky and start tossing around 'Papist' I get frisky back. It doesn't mean you can't hang out and play XBox afterwards. There's nothing uncivil about civilized debate.

After all, what's the point of believing anything if you don't believe in it strongly enough to say so?

*Which a certain Pentecostal at work would say is crazy, because I playfully enjoy the role of agnostic questioner with her whenever we go on break together

** I have the sneaking suspicion that all those fervent guilt/hate spreaders had great-great-grand pappy's who were ever so eager to burn the local synagogue to the ground or toss around measles to the natives. Hate begets hate, it rides in your blood if you're not careful. Nowadays its just more acceptable to hate religion than the black guy down the road, that's all.