Back Hoe Required...

My desk is in there somewhere. Regrettably, the desk has looked like this more at least most of the summer.

Today, after being thwarted in trying to acquire posts for the arbor/pergola project, I decided to hit Target and pick up some organizational tools to help me right the ship.

Three hours and a paper bag full of paper to recycle, I managed to discover the desktop. Cool.

My favorite discovery was this appeal from the New York Times.

Baron Rice. I think there is some mileage in that one. When I embark on my life of crime, perhaps that can be one of my handles. Norab. Not quite as good going backwards. Oh, well.

Here is the desk in its new, almost clean stage. A tremendous upgrade. Step by step....

Nineteen Arrives

So for the second time since she was two, Maura has a birthday in Minneapolis. So far the day has been action packed. Slight acknowledgment from the cats and listening to be swear and drop things in the kitchen ("Nothing."). Shiho and Gaylord get bonus points for having Facebooked Maura and acknowledged her birthday. Good form.

The big event for the day is dinner out at Chino Latino with friends for the evening. Great fun I hope.

I dusted off my culinary skills and I tried to navigate my way through a scratch cake. Yes, the chocolate frosting has white specs in it. The doggone powdered sugar seemed resistant to mixing with the rest of the frosting batter.

Wow, nineteen. Enjoy dear, enjoy.

Congratulations to Ian and Melissa

Congrats to Ian and Melissa on the wedding. Here they are laughing at a toast from Melissa's father--(of course, I have that on hearsay since my invitation to the wedding seems to have been misplaced.)

Melissa is a wonderful friend to Gaylord, and Ian is a very special person. He is very impressive. I remember him taking Melissa kayaking at Bermuda when others were being tossed out of their kayaks, he kept them cruising along.

Well done all.

(I am sure the invitation will arrive soon.)

Ethics, Liriano & Slamma, Grace and Cement Posts...

Today Maura and I ventured to Target Field to watch the Twins battle the team from Cleveland. Cleveland had won the first two games of the series, but we had Francisco Liriano pitching today. That should make for a good game...

To make matters better, my old boss, Dick Lewis was in town and we met him outside Target Center (Dick was a bit confused by the "Target's". He was outside the basketball arena and seemed to not notice the crowd walking by heading to the next block and the ball park). Unfortunately, we were only able to get Standing Room Only tickets for today's game.

Happily, the Twins played better (even though Morneau was out, Mauer was out and our manager was gone) Big Drew Butera was our catcher. Observation: Butera is hitting .158, but he sure seems to call a good game. I think the team has won a lot of the games he has caught. Delmon Young continues to hit the ball, especially in clutch situations. Francisco Liriano continued to be a strong presence in the Twin's starting rotation, especially if he can get out of the first couple of innings. Another highlight of this game was watching Twin's rookie Anthony Slama make his major league debut. Slama gave up a single to Matt Laporta and then Slama struck out the next two batters before ending the inning with a ground ball to third. Great start son.

Cleveland's defense was also borderline-to-poor today. Still, I look for Cleveland to have a winning record during the second half of the season.

Maura left early to go be with Grace at Saint Sebrina's for a tattoo, and boy, did Grace get a tattoo. I was shocked at how bit it is, but after I got this note for Grace, it makes sense:

Haha thanks! I'm glad it turned out so well too! I got it as a tribute (I'm not really sure if thats the right word haha) to my mom. The Alzheimer's symbol is at the bottom and I wanted to show the growth of my emotional process in dealing with it. I think, at least at the beginning, that my mental state during the first few years of the disease became really twisted and painful so I kind of stopped moving forward emotionally. But what I've come to realize is that even if I stopped, life was still happening all around me whether I wanted it to or not. There is life during your hardships and, even if you feel like you might collapse under the weight of your struggles, you have to keep going. It's up to you to find the beauty of existence not just after the experince has passed, but also in each day while it is happening. Thats why I put the flower at the top, I suppose to symbolize my growth, or blooming if you will, towards this state of mind. So yeah, that got a tad bit melodramatic haha but there you go :) Wow, I wish that I was so self-aware and thoughtful. Nice job Grace!

I am interested in getting a mountain bike with 29 inch tires (the norm is 26"). Yesterday I found this ad in Craigslist and I responded. The guy sent me an email back, and then I said that I was interested in the frame and could he tell me about its "history". I haven't heard a word from the guy since. Shit....

Some possibilities:

1) The frame is stolen and the "history" comment spooked the guy.

2) The guy didn't like me or my email and that is why he hasn't responded.

3) Someone else bought the frame and this guy is too lazy to take the ad down off Craigslist.

Sigh. I don't know whether to send an email from another account, or just accept reality that this "too good to be true" deal isn't going to happen.

***********

Last night after work I asked our new neighbor if he would help me yank a cement post out of the ground. One of his buddies jumped up and came over to help, and we got the final cement post out quickly. It had still been buried about eight inches in the dirt, which explains why I couldn't pull it out with Maura's help earlier in the day.

Tonight after the baseball game I got the post-hole digger out and I scooped out more dirt. I hit clay at the bottom and so I may need to go rent an auger to get down the last 12-14 inches. But the project moves on, however slowly.

Some Glue and a Scorecard

Last night I finished The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. On the Tex scale of books (four paws up being the best) I give this novel a paw and a half (despite having strong cat parts throughout the story).

This story gets off to a strong start. There are two teen-age characters, a brother and sister who have been separated from most of their lives. The story begins as the recount the evening in the British Museum with their father, an archaeologist that leads to five hundred pages of mayhem with different Egyptian gods.

At the beginning of the story the female lead has a great voice. She grew up in London, and it is evident during the beginning of the book in her choice of idiom. Unfortunately, that wonderful "British" voice seems to fade in and out for most of the rest of the story.

I think my main trouble is that I just am not that interested in tales of wrestling with different gods, godlings, magicians, and whoever else shows up. At times I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep track of everyone, and how they were connected to one another.

My final irritation with this book was the poor binding. I bought the book in hardback and the binding has completely come apart. Now that I am done with the story, I will try and reglue the beast.

I know Mr. Riordan is widely popular for his serious of books about the Greek gods, but I have to say this bad boy did nothing for me.

Dear Harriett...

Dear Harriett,

Here it is, nine years after you have left, and we still miss you each and everyday.

As I am sure you know, much has happened since you have left. Dad has kind of packed it in. I now have a better idea of what you had to deal with in living with dad. After you left dad continued to befriend Mr. Smirnoff, and that kept up until his fall last August. Now Dad watches television for seven to ten hours a day. That seems to be the limits of his interests.

Winston is doing well. He married Shiho three Octobers ago (I think) and they now live with Dad, to help care for him. While marrying Shiho was a great move, I think moving to DC has been harder on Winston as he is away from all his friends from the last 25-30 years. Shiho comes home tomorrow from six weeks in Japan where she was caring for her sister who just had her first child. I know Winston will be very glad to have Shiho home.

Gaylord and Jon just bought a townhouse in Brooklyn. Jon continues to work very hard and Gaylord is beginning to consider returning to some kind of work. I don't have any pictures of their new place, but I am sure that it is wonderful. Jon has been very good for Gaylord. She has struggled a bit since you left. She can't seem to find a focus.

Here we are largely the same, only older. Karyl is doing great things at school in the Communications department. We are getting ready to take Maura to BU for her freshman year. Erik is living in Portland this summer. He is happy to be on his own. Erik is living with Chris, and I think another guy named, Paul in the fall. Chris and Erik are trying to navigate the employment scene in Portland this summer, and it is tough going. I keep hoping they will find something at LC or the law school nearby.

I am trying to do better. I am trying to be a better parent, husband, colleague and of course, teacher. These past few years I have been trying to learn more about reading, and that has helped me do better at school. It is important to stay fresh.

Well, I wanted to let you know that we miss you greatly. We miss you gracious tennis games, your laughter, your wonderful dinners, and your delightful sense of humor.

Please care for yourself.

Byron

The Fog Lifts, No focus, and Bank Loans

Good news...the fog I have been in for the last week or so seems to have lifted last night. No idea why or how. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and feeling better, and sure enough to day I have had more energy and a generally better outlook on things...Good stuff.

Yesterday, on the morning walk with Moonie, I spotted a small bird with a dark spot on its chest. Today I returned armed with binoculars and a camera. I have to say that I find the camera shot rather poor. The latest Canon camera the school has takes stellar shots, far superior to the effort I was able to produce.

I don't know if my autofocus isn't that good, or if my lens just doesn't have the muscle to get close shots in focus. I need to do some research on this topic.

This morning it was stormy, so I worked on getting loans arranged for people. I think I have Erik done, and now I have some forms to mail for Maura. Slowly moving forward.

That is it from the Flatlands for today....

A 27, a Black Dog, and a Sunflower

The last week or so the Black Dog seems to have settled in here at 6310. I am not as motivated as I would like to be, and I seem unsatisfied with most of my days. Yesterday I busted out the 520 and road for two hours and 27 miles. That helped. Maybe I need to do that everyday....Sigh. Maybe I need to do something to make it more exciting so that it doesn't seem so "same-o, same-o". Don't know...

***********

Last night I was sitting here in the old computer room after work doing nothing when Maura got in. After a piece she drifted into the room and said, "Dad, look".

Maura took a painting from Van Gogh and created her own sunflower, which she then had tattooed on her right shoulder. I will say that it is beautiful, and it is especially nice since she designed it. Still, Maura!

Good-bye to Denny Ward

On Tuesday we rolled out of the rack early to head west to Milbank, South Dakota to say, "Good-bye" to Karyl's uncle Denny. Denny was a man filled with life, laughter, and love for those around him -- a much loved father, husband, and uncle.

We left at 6:30 and Susan drove the Tahoe ("Thank you" to Mike for loaning us the Tahoe for the day) all the way there like a woman possessed. Being a nervous-nelly, backseat driver I have to say that Susan made good decisions on the driving -- both going and on the longer trip home.

We made it to St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Milbank just in time. All the relatives gathered for final instructions and then we went in for the funeral. It was a nice service, but it had the worst sermon ever delivered at a funeral.

[Here are the details about the worst sermon ever---feel free to skip this rant if you just want to know about Denny's day.] The pastor in charge told a story about how two different events came together and over lapped. One of the stories was Denny finally dying last Friday night after being in the hospital for two weeks after falling and cracking his skull. The second story had to do with a young couple who came to the hospital on Friday to deliver their second stillborn child. What do they have in common? The minister used the same speech to both families. Yes, that was what the two stories have in common. That was this guy's "A" game on this day. How in the blue blazes of [Note to reader: I am now foaming at the mouth - this sermon was so bad.] It took the minister forever to tell the story of the young couple and I think we thought that with Denny's passing there would be some good news for the young couple -- there second attempt at having a child was successful, or something positive. NOPE. Basically this sermon had NOTHING to do with Denny and everything to do with this minister and his inability to render any meaningful words to either family. This sermon was about him, and it really should have been about Denny.

So after we survived the sermon we had a very touching lunch in the church basement and then it was on to Revilo, twenty miles away to lay Denny to rest. Here the family is releasing balloons into the air as they say their good-byes.

The next picture is June saying her final "Good-bye" to her younger brother.

The past two weeks have been hard on everyone in the Ward clan, and that would include June.

The lug to the left is the world's worst minister (my profound sympathies to the poor folks in Milbank who are doomed to suffer through more sermons from this bozo).

Here Pat Ward and June comfort Marion.

Here Connie, June, and Susan offer Marion (June's younger sister) some comfort. Marion was quite moved at Denny's passing; God love her.

After laying Denny to rest, we wandered over to visit the graves of Thina and John Ward, and June's brother, Roger, who died several years ago.

This is Marion Ward Kelzer and her family. Brad, Marion, Gene, Tom and his wife, Deanna.

Denny, thanks for the jokes and the laughs. It was great to have known you, and your memory and example live on in our hearts and minds. Peace.

Read, White and Blue

Yesterday I finished my first Alan Furst novel, Night Soldiers. I selected this author based on the recommendations of two trusted sources (The Rap Sheet being the top of that list) and I wasn't disappointed.

Night Soldiers is an excellent historical drama about the spy world during the Second World War. If you are a spy junkie, this is definitely right up your power alley. This story was well researched and contained lots of interesting details.

Still, even with the juicy details about weapons, geography, radios et all, I found this read to be tough sledding at times. I also recently read Alone In Berlin which is similar in many ways. In both books people are trying there level best to avoid getting caught by the police/secret police in fascist/totalitarian countries, and in both books numerous lives are broken and destroyed for no reason at all.

At one point yesterday, ironically - July 4th, I got to thinking about how lucky I feel living in a place where the law is respected (more or less). But, I also got to thinking about how I have it pretty well here, so that for the most part, all my troubles are self-inflicted. But I got to wondering about people who live in this country and feel more like their "lives are broken for sport", as opposed to my feeling of "Equal Justice Under Law". As a citizen of the planet, what are my responsibilities with regard to people who aren't as fortunate as I am?

Back to the book. I read in the afterword about Mr. Furst and all of his novels. I have another one on the shelf, Dark Star, I believe, but I don't know that I will be venturing there straight away. I think I need a break from the secret police for awhile...