The Stranding of the Deep Thought

When I was a very young child, a merchant ship got stuck in the mud off the shores of Milwaukee's lakefront, and remained there long enough to become a sightseeing landmark for many, including my family. That was the Photinia, and many decades later I wrote about it here on Slapinions. 

History may not repeat, but it does sometimes rhyme, and on October 13th a private boat "Deep Thought"  ran out of gas and was abandoned along the lakefront between McKinley Marina and a custard stand called Moosaburger. 

43 days later it remains in place, and has been the focus of news stories, sightseeing, and t-shirts here in Milwaukee. 

Naturally, we went to see it too. "We" in this case being YaYa and her fiancé. 

Despite my knee injury earlier in the day - or perhaps to spite it - I climbed along the rocks to get a better view. 

It's kind of sad seeing it just sit there, but majestic in its own right. It did bring back many memories of seeing the Photinia and I'm glad I got to see her before it's eventually removed. 

The USS Beloit

At 3:20 YaYa and her fiancé picked me up to go take some pictures with a stranded boat along the lake. Along the way we stopped and went to see the USS Beloit (LCS 29), a new Freedom class warship that was christened here in Milwaukee on Saturday.  We actually had tickets for the christening ceremony, but YaYa had a last minute conflict and we had to skip it. 

 

It's probably been forty years since I've been that close to a surface warship.  My Dad took my sisters and I on a tour of one that docked in Milwaukee when I was a kid, and too young to even remember what class of vessel it was that day. 

My impression of the Beloit? 

It seemed, to me, to be pretty darn big, and resembled an ironclad right out of the Civil War. 

Best of luck to the ship, and prayers for the safety of the crew.

Dinner at YaYa's

After a stressful afternoon, Yaya invited Lisa and I over to her place and fed us an early dinner.  Sloppy Joe's,  veggies,  a cucumber salad,  and brownies. 

I wouldn't mind another of those sloppy Joe's right now, actually. 

Thank you kiddo!

Junie's Last First Day of High School!

 And there she goes! Junie on last first day of high school!

So, even for Dan and I, it's the end of an era. We have had kids in school for almost 20 years.

- Lisa

correction: It HAS been a 20 year run. YaYa started school in the fall of 2004 as a 3 year old. I remember wearing a Bush re-election pin and talking about it with the crossing guard at St. Catherine's. I think I had Yaya where a "My Daddy is a Republican" button once too! - Dan

Twisters - in 4DX!

On Saturday YaYa invited me to go see a movie with her and her man, her treat. Sure, I said, what time? 

"Midnight," she said. 

Midnight? I get up at six, what kind of tomfoolery was that? 

I still went. 

Turns out the movie was just outside of Chicago, a 90 minute drive away, and was a 4dx experience. I had a vague notion about what that was like, having been through the Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter (not a typo)  at Disney back in '96.  I remember the seat moving, and the hot breath of the alien on my neck. 

That was little league; this was the Show. 

Now things didn't start out too well, as the theater played 17 minutes of commercials before the film. 8.5 minutes of content really, as each commercial repeated once as soon as it finished. We were about to riot, but finally the theater noticed the glitch, took it to a dark screen, and then immediately fired up the movie, skipping the trailers

We'll get to the movie review in a minute, but first the 4DX: holy moley!

If the wind is blowing in the film, wind is blowing on you; if it is raining on the screen, rain falls on you; are the characters riding down a bumpy country road, taking a sharp turn, or jumping out of the way of danger? 

Then brother, you move WITH THEM. That chair was bucking back, forth, up, down, side to side, like a dang carnival ride, and there were a few times I had to brace myself to stay in the seat. It was incredible, just wicked fun!

Twisters is of course, a sequel to the 1996 classic, Twister. although to be more accurate it's the second in a series, as there are no repeating characters or plot points (beyond tornados). I did not expect much from the film, especially given what appeared to be the awful acting of the young meteorology students in the opening scene. That turned out to a red herring. The movie was a blast. The action was fierce and visually impressive - perfect for 4dx - but the plot and characterization held up too, and the acting definitely shouldn't be judged by the first scene. 

small spoiler - I especially loved that although there was romantic tension, there was no sex or even kissing between the main cast. In the context of working to stop an onslaught of tornadoes costing lives across the state, that was real-world accurate behavior definitely appreciated - very old school Hollywood! end spoiler 

For what it is, a summer action blockbuster, I grade Twisters a well deserved A+

Go see it!

btw  - I arrived home at 4am. 4!!!!

Federation Breakfast with Santa - 2003

Memories from 2003

A 2003 Brewers game with the late Dennis and Gil Kohn, YaYa and LuLu

Most men would never take two youngins to the game by themselves. You are special! - Lisa

+

YaYa is engaged!!

This morning I went to the DMV to renew my driver's license and had two missed calls from YaYa. I texted her a pic from the DMV and told her I'd call her when I was done.  In response I received this photo:

My YaYa is engaged!

Here's the scoop.

Back on the 9th I was scrolling on my phone in bed when Alex, YaYa's boyfriend,  nervously asked to speak with me. It was hard for him to get to the point,  as anxious as he was,  but I could see it coming.  As I wrote my work chat at 10:05 that night:

My oldest daughter's boyfriend just asked my blessing to propose to her this weekend. Unnecessary but sweet.  :)  

I told him of course he had my blessings and that I would be proud to have him as a son-in-law.

Friday they left town to spend the weekend in a yurt they had rented. 

This morning YaYa was fascinated with some frogs nearby and concentrated on getting some photos. 

Behind her, as recorded on video,  Alex waited on bended knee.

I think they are a great couple and I am thrilled to see them start a life together as husband and wife. 

Congratulations YaYa and Alex!!!