I have to step aside. It's time for young Will Heckenkemper. He has posted the above article on the "copy lady." Rumor has it that Bishop Kelley paid millions for the accompanying photo.
Collector's item, isn't it?
Monday, November 3, 2008
Move over Hartley; Will is here
I have to step aside. It's time for young Will Heckenkemper. He has posted the above article on the "copy lady." Rumor has it that Bishop Kelley paid millions for the accompanying photo.
Collector's item, isn't it?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Welcome back, Theo
If you call Mother, as some of you do, then you will have heard about the ordeal last week.
Remember this?
From the downhill driveway, the park is downhill. It's downhill all the way to Boots Adam Park. Theo's legs pump like an engineer's dream of efficiency when he escapes. He's the black-and-white locomotive. He can scoot with the fastest of greyhounds for at least the distance to the park.
Your Mother recounted the initiation of her painful search-and-cajole party. Too bad you missed that recount, Matt.
As I listened to her, the description reminded me of the Great Ice Storm of 2007. Carl's lights were back on within 24 hours after the Destruction Formerly Known as My Neighborhood. We were, however, without power for a few more days. I took Theo to see Carl in the cozy, well-lit duplex. When I returned home, Theo was on a leash. Or he was until I looked downward and realized the collar was just choking air. I looked up and, even in the darkness, I could see his legs pumping from just falling downwards with the gravity to the park. I lacked thermal wear. I lacked night vision binoculars. I lacked a machete to cut through the tons of debris on the ground. I lacked a pair of ice skates.
Adios. Have a nice life, Theo.
I manually opened the garage door, let Stella in the house, fumbled around in the darkness to find the flashlight, lit a couple of candles, took a well-deserved leak, and walked back into the kitchen. I still had to manually close the garage door.
When I opened the door from the kitchen to the garage, a black ball of fur still went pretty darned fast right past my feet, even though it was all uphill.
From BostonTerrierhub.com, we learn: "Protecting your Boston Terrier from heat and cold is extremely important for his health ... Bostons have short, thin coats, so they have little protection in wet, cold weather."
Aw, ain't that a shame? Welcome back, Theo.
It was the easiest search-and-cajole party ever initiated for him.
Remember this?
From the downhill driveway, the park is downhill. It's downhill all the way to Boots Adam Park. Theo's legs pump like an engineer's dream of efficiency when he escapes. He's the black-and-white locomotive. He can scoot with the fastest of greyhounds for at least the distance to the park.
Your Mother recounted the initiation of her painful search-and-cajole party. Too bad you missed that recount, Matt.
As I listened to her, the description reminded me of the Great Ice Storm of 2007. Carl's lights were back on within 24 hours after the Destruction Formerly Known as My Neighborhood. We were, however, without power for a few more days. I took Theo to see Carl in the cozy, well-lit duplex. When I returned home, Theo was on a leash. Or he was until I looked downward and realized the collar was just choking air. I looked up and, even in the darkness, I could see his legs pumping from just falling downwards with the gravity to the park. I lacked thermal wear. I lacked night vision binoculars. I lacked a machete to cut through the tons of debris on the ground. I lacked a pair of ice skates.
Adios. Have a nice life, Theo.
I manually opened the garage door, let Stella in the house, fumbled around in the darkness to find the flashlight, lit a couple of candles, took a well-deserved leak, and walked back into the kitchen. I still had to manually close the garage door.
When I opened the door from the kitchen to the garage, a black ball of fur still went pretty darned fast right past my feet, even though it was all uphill.
From BostonTerrierhub.com, we learn: "Protecting your Boston Terrier from heat and cold is extremely important for his health ... Bostons have short, thin coats, so they have little protection in wet, cold weather."
Aw, ain't that a shame? Welcome back, Theo.
It was the easiest search-and-cajole party ever initiated for him.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Never too early for Christmas
Here's a little Christmas gift idea that can be purchased as far away as Toyko, Japan, or Madrid, Spain. I'm pretty sure the back yard is 500+ square yards. Theo is not going anywhere near it, though. He'll have to resume hiking his leg in the study.
Clue translation: Colonel Theo in the study with hiked leg.
Clue translation: Colonel Theo in the study with hiked leg.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
markdeafsmith
I said goodbye to a departing colleague yesterday. We've spent many hours together over the past two years, but he found a better job for his living situation. As I shook his hand, he hands me his business card for his new job. He encourages me to stay in touch. I had not really thought of that, due to the age difference. I'm still on the good side of 50; he's still on the terrific side of something under 30, I think. Unsure of what to say, I ask if he wants my email address.
He grabs a pen and piece of paper.
"Mark," I start.
He writes it down.
"Deaf," I continue.
"D-e-f?" he asks.
"D-e-a-f," I reply, then add "Smith at yahoo dot com."
He looks very puzzled.
"Mark is my first name." He's no longer puzzled, just smirking.
"Deaf Smith is my hero," I explain. I briefly summarize the Texas scout's hearing impairment. I briefly describe the first time I saw him in the painting depicting the surrender of Santa Ana. The wounded Sam Houston is on the blanket, accepting the surrender and Deaf Smith is kneeling there, hand cupped around his ear so he can hear better.
I suggest that my colleague look up Deaf Smith on Wikipedia sometime. Deaf Smith really is a hero of Texas' struggle for independence. But like most hearing impaired people he kind of sinks into the background because he doesn't communicate much.
So I get home and open up Wikipedia to look up something else. What's the feature of the day? It's something called the "Grass Fight." I missed this one when I took Texas history, as far as I can recall. It's not hard to see why the loyal daughters of Texas who were teaching elementary school in the 1960s would skip past it.
The war had just started. The Texans spot a supply train from Mexico. Thinking it's full of ammo, guns, and payrolls for Mexican soldiers, they attack. The supplies turn out to be grass for horses.
Not sure why Mexicans felt they had to bring their own grass. And, no, I'm not talking about that kind of grass.
Anyway, the Wikipedia account of the Grass Fight includes this sentence: "On November 26, Texian scout Deaf Smith brought news of a Mexican pack train, accompanied by 50–100 soldiers, that was on its way to Bexar."
Well, OK, Deaf Smith was just a rookie then. When you have a moment sometime, read accounts of the rest of his life.
He grabs a pen and piece of paper.
"Mark," I start.
He writes it down.
"Deaf," I continue.
"D-e-f?" he asks.
"D-e-a-f," I reply, then add "Smith at yahoo dot com."
He looks very puzzled.
"Mark is my first name." He's no longer puzzled, just smirking.
"Deaf Smith is my hero," I explain. I briefly summarize the Texas scout's hearing impairment. I briefly describe the first time I saw him in the painting depicting the surrender of Santa Ana. The wounded Sam Houston is on the blanket, accepting the surrender and Deaf Smith is kneeling there, hand cupped around his ear so he can hear better.
I suggest that my colleague look up Deaf Smith on Wikipedia sometime. Deaf Smith really is a hero of Texas' struggle for independence. But like most hearing impaired people he kind of sinks into the background because he doesn't communicate much.
So I get home and open up Wikipedia to look up something else. What's the feature of the day? It's something called the "Grass Fight." I missed this one when I took Texas history, as far as I can recall. It's not hard to see why the loyal daughters of Texas who were teaching elementary school in the 1960s would skip past it.
The war had just started. The Texans spot a supply train from Mexico. Thinking it's full of ammo, guns, and payrolls for Mexican soldiers, they attack. The supplies turn out to be grass for horses.
Not sure why Mexicans felt they had to bring their own grass. And, no, I'm not talking about that kind of grass.
Anyway, the Wikipedia account of the Grass Fight includes this sentence: "On November 26, Texian scout Deaf Smith brought news of a Mexican pack train, accompanied by 50–100 soldiers, that was on its way to Bexar."
Well, OK, Deaf Smith was just a rookie then. When you have a moment sometime, read accounts of the rest of his life.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Bugling Elks, and Alex and Joe
One of the very first people I met in Waco, Texas, in 1985 recently sent me an email that contained the following news:
“We recently bought and moved into the retirement home of our dreams. Backs up to the Tonto National Forest. We hear the elk bugling (it's mating season) at night. Also have mule deer, owls,hummingbirds and eagles galore."
I, of course, have been wondering how Mother would handle listening to the elks bugling in the middle of nowhere. I smile at the thought.
I wonder what Wikipedia says about the bugling of elks. Not much. But it does offer this:
“During the mating period known as the rut, mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows and will try to defend females in their harem. Rival bulls challenge opponents by bellowing and by paralleling each other, walking back and forth. This allows potential combatants to assess the others antlers, body size and fighting prowess. If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also dig holes in the ground, in which they urinate and roll their body. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows.”
I wonder what Mother would think if she stepped out on the deck to water her basil crop and observed some patriarchal resizing of an elk harem. I smile at the thought.
She, of course, would prod the dogs into action. “Elk! Look! An elk is in the back yard! Help!”
Seattle, the master of the lair, would give us her “the look” over the shoulder as she walked into another room. An elk ain’t no squirrel.
They remain vigilant, of course, for any signs of Joe Biden or Alex Trebek. But it can be tricky and you have to keep a firm grip on the facts.
Joe is two years younger than Alex. Most Boston Terriers would assume the opposite.
Alex was born and raised in Ontario. Joe was born and raised in Scranton, PA, moving to Delaware as a 10 year old. Both of the female Boston Terriers know that Alex and Joe could physically disguise themselves. The voices and accents may be the only clues they get. So they practice by listening carefully to the speech patterns of Mother and Nah.
They especially zero in on the constant bugling of “Such a nice boy!”
Dead giveaway for Joe Biden being in the house. The girls remain firm in their beliefs that no one would sincerely say that to Theo, and, if those words are ever uttered at 6605 S. 77th E. Ave, then big, I mean really big, trouble is afoot.
Joe was first elected to the Senate in 1972. Alex took over Jeopardy in 1984. The girls want to know everything that happened during those 12 years. Think of Mother graduating from high school and giving birth to her first child in that time span. There are many details that have vanished about the early Biden and Trebek years, even more so as time passes by. Help a dog out with intelligence gathering, would you?
“We recently bought and moved into the retirement home of our dreams. Backs up to the Tonto National Forest. We hear the elk bugling (it's mating season) at night. Also have mule deer, owls,hummingbirds and eagles galore."
I, of course, have been wondering how Mother would handle listening to the elks bugling in the middle of nowhere. I smile at the thought.
I wonder what Wikipedia says about the bugling of elks. Not much. But it does offer this:
“During the mating period known as the rut, mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows and will try to defend females in their harem. Rival bulls challenge opponents by bellowing and by paralleling each other, walking back and forth. This allows potential combatants to assess the others antlers, body size and fighting prowess. If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also dig holes in the ground, in which they urinate and roll their body. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows.”
I wonder what Mother would think if she stepped out on the deck to water her basil crop and observed some patriarchal resizing of an elk harem. I smile at the thought.
She, of course, would prod the dogs into action. “Elk! Look! An elk is in the back yard! Help!”
Seattle, the master of the lair, would give us her “the look” over the shoulder as she walked into another room. An elk ain’t no squirrel.
They remain vigilant, of course, for any signs of Joe Biden or Alex Trebek. But it can be tricky and you have to keep a firm grip on the facts.
Joe is two years younger than Alex. Most Boston Terriers would assume the opposite.
Alex was born and raised in Ontario. Joe was born and raised in Scranton, PA, moving to Delaware as a 10 year old. Both of the female Boston Terriers know that Alex and Joe could physically disguise themselves. The voices and accents may be the only clues they get. So they practice by listening carefully to the speech patterns of Mother and Nah.
They especially zero in on the constant bugling of “Such a nice boy!”
Dead giveaway for Joe Biden being in the house. The girls remain firm in their beliefs that no one would sincerely say that to Theo, and, if those words are ever uttered at 6605 S. 77th E. Ave, then big, I mean really big, trouble is afoot.
Joe was first elected to the Senate in 1972. Alex took over Jeopardy in 1984. The girls want to know everything that happened during those 12 years. Think of Mother graduating from high school and giving birth to her first child in that time span. There are many details that have vanished about the early Biden and Trebek years, even more so as time passes by. Help a dog out with intelligence gathering, would you?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thank you, Neko-chan
Neko-chan:
The photo you submitted belongs in Seattle's Lair.
Your brothers know, but you probably don't, that the Cowboys are 3-0. Your oldest brother's favorite team arrives in Dallas for a game this weekend. Maybe he can check out a book about them at the Austin library. You know, but they probably don't, that we enjoyed watching a Cowboys game together recently.
Thank you, Neko-chan, for the memories.
Nothing terribly exciting going on in Tulsa at the moment. If I understood Mother correctly, Dan's farewell dinner is tomorrow night [Thursday], since I will be coming home from Orlando as he departs.
Dan has cleaned about half the deck since the last time I looked out there. He is truly doing a masterful job of it. Must be the supervision he's getting.
Otherwise, Dan chuckles a lot. He has been watching the greatest movie of all time, Toy Story 2. I think Matt and Sonja forgot to tell him that he can watch movies over in Spain. He has been watching a lot of them during the last few days, laughing most of the way. But if you really want to cause him to chuckle, ask him in straightforward fashion if he is going to the zoo.
Otousan
The photo you submitted belongs in Seattle's Lair.
Your brothers know, but you probably don't, that the Cowboys are 3-0. Your oldest brother's favorite team arrives in Dallas for a game this weekend. Maybe he can check out a book about them at the Austin library. You know, but they probably don't, that we enjoyed watching a Cowboys game together recently.
Thank you, Neko-chan, for the memories.
Nothing terribly exciting going on in Tulsa at the moment. If I understood Mother correctly, Dan's farewell dinner is tomorrow night [Thursday], since I will be coming home from Orlando as he departs.
Dan has cleaned about half the deck since the last time I looked out there. He is truly doing a masterful job of it. Must be the supervision he's getting.
Otherwise, Dan chuckles a lot. He has been watching the greatest movie of all time, Toy Story 2. I think Matt and Sonja forgot to tell him that he can watch movies over in Spain. He has been watching a lot of them during the last few days, laughing most of the way. But if you really want to cause him to chuckle, ask him in straightforward fashion if he is going to the zoo.
Otousan
Saturday, September 20, 2008
From the heart of the lair
It's dark in here. No, wait a minute. It's just Stella's hiney parts in my face again.
The face is no place for hiney parts.
"Seattle's Lair" is a global blog stretching from Austin to Tulsa to Madrid to Tokyo.
Please comment on here every now and then. Point out to everyone who the silly one is (hint: it's the woman dreaming up dialogue for her three dogs).
Tonight (Saturday, Sept. 20), Margaret and Danny are going to see Trout Fishing in America. I'm moving my toothbrush into the renovated bathroom today. Woohoo!
This is a start. Nothing elaborate. Maybe we'll find a camera and stage a theme photo for Seattle's Lair. Bet there'll be covers in it.
Dad
The face is no place for hiney parts.
"Seattle's Lair" is a global blog stretching from Austin to Tulsa to Madrid to Tokyo.
Please comment on here every now and then. Point out to everyone who the silly one is (hint: it's the woman dreaming up dialogue for her three dogs).
Tonight (Saturday, Sept. 20), Margaret and Danny are going to see Trout Fishing in America. I'm moving my toothbrush into the renovated bathroom today. Woohoo!
This is a start. Nothing elaborate. Maybe we'll find a camera and stage a theme photo for Seattle's Lair. Bet there'll be covers in it.
Dad
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