Thursday
10/22/04
The Calm Before the Storm
Although it can logically be said of any season, for me autumn is the season that most represents transition. Transition from the carefree downtime that is summer into the season of routine and responsibility that is school and work. Transition from a season of heat and growth into a season of harvest and promise fulfilled.
I would in fact argue that it makes more sense to begin the new calendar year in September than it does in the dead of winter. We have, after all, mostly relinquished the notion that Sunday is the first day of the week as a practical matter; why not celebrate New Year’s Eve on a balmy September day?
And what exactly does that have to do with anything? Beats me. I guess my point was that up until this year autumn has always been a great source of material about my boys in transition. New classes, new teachers and new challenges; all great fodder for fresh, homemade blogging goodness.
This year is, however, turning out to be something of a disappointment. All the transitions to new classes, buildings and teachers have been relatively smooth and uneventful. There have been no missed busses, no mystery clumps of glue in the hair to be removed, no endless bouts of strep, no lost shoes… and nary a trip back to school to retrieve "forgotten" homework. All in all it’s been a very organized season so far.
But, as I’ve noted before, I’m a tool-using primate with a large forebrain that’s capable of non-linear thought. In short, I’m capable of anticipating events far off in the future… Yes, before I know it both my boys will be teenagers. The bathroom door will be locked all the time. The phone will ring nonstop, and it will never be for me. The family car will arrive home one night with a flat tire and bits of hedge peeking out of the grill. My Lovely Bride and I will return home after a weekend get-away and, despite the standing ban on parties, the house will have mysteriously taken on a certain bouquet not unlike that of a soiled bar towel. Oh yes, and then there are the girls…
So, having looked into the future (Some skeptics may be tempted to imagine that rather than the future it’s my own past that has inspired the above scenarios; but such a notion is nothing more than stuff and nonsense. Rest assured that my altar boy-like adolescence was the very model of a well spent youth. Ahem. ) it’s clear to me that there’s plenty of testosterone induced trouble on the horizon and there won’t be enough hours in the day for this dad to blog it all.
Today’s lesson learned? Embrace all that’s peaceful and revel in all that’s uneventful now, ‘cause the barbarians are at the gate.
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The Calm Before the Storm
Although it can logically be said of any season, for me autumn is the season that most represents transition. Transition from the carefree downtime that is summer into the season of routine and responsibility that is school and work. Transition from a season of heat and growth into a season of harvest and promise fulfilled.
I would in fact argue that it makes more sense to begin the new calendar year in September than it does in the dead of winter. We have, after all, mostly relinquished the notion that Sunday is the first day of the week as a practical matter; why not celebrate New Year’s Eve on a balmy September day?
And what exactly does that have to do with anything? Beats me. I guess my point was that up until this year autumn has always been a great source of material about my boys in transition. New classes, new teachers and new challenges; all great fodder for fresh, homemade blogging goodness.
This year is, however, turning out to be something of a disappointment. All the transitions to new classes, buildings and teachers have been relatively smooth and uneventful. There have been no missed busses, no mystery clumps of glue in the hair to be removed, no endless bouts of strep, no lost shoes… and nary a trip back to school to retrieve "forgotten" homework. All in all it’s been a very organized season so far.
But, as I’ve noted before, I’m a tool-using primate with a large forebrain that’s capable of non-linear thought. In short, I’m capable of anticipating events far off in the future… Yes, before I know it both my boys will be teenagers. The bathroom door will be locked all the time. The phone will ring nonstop, and it will never be for me. The family car will arrive home one night with a flat tire and bits of hedge peeking out of the grill. My Lovely Bride and I will return home after a weekend get-away and, despite the standing ban on parties, the house will have mysteriously taken on a certain bouquet not unlike that of a soiled bar towel. Oh yes, and then there are the girls…
So, having looked into the future (Some skeptics may be tempted to imagine that rather than the future it’s my own past that has inspired the above scenarios; but such a notion is nothing more than stuff and nonsense. Rest assured that my altar boy-like adolescence was the very model of a well spent youth. Ahem. ) it’s clear to me that there’s plenty of testosterone induced trouble on the horizon and there won’t be enough hours in the day for this dad to blog it all.
Today’s lesson learned? Embrace all that’s peaceful and revel in all that’s uneventful now, ‘cause the barbarians are at the gate.
(Hey readers! Please note that this is from a real story!)
News flash! George W. Bush Receives Novel Endorsement
Dadsonthecouch News Wire
October 20, 2004
TEHERAN, Iran -- In a move hailed worldwide by enthusiasts of irony, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and Axis of Evil co-conspirator Hasan Rowhani said yesterday that "We do not desire to see Democrats take over" in the November 2nd presidential election.
Rowhani expanded on his embarrassing views of the contrast between Republican and Democratic administrations, noting that "We haven't seen anything good from Democrats."
In response, a blushing Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said "It's not an endorsement we'll be accepting anytime soon." The ungrateful Stanzel went on to note that "Iran should stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and if they continue in the direction they are going, then we will have to look at what additional action may need to be taken, including looking to the U.N. Security Council."
Notoriously coy regarding international affairs, president Bush refused to comment on the matter, although Rowhani did reply to Stanzel’s remarks in an early morning press conference in Teheran: "Jeez, we were just trying to help… What a dick."
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News flash! George W. Bush Receives Novel Endorsement
Dadsonthecouch News Wire
October 20, 2004
TEHERAN, Iran -- In a move hailed worldwide by enthusiasts of irony, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and Axis of Evil co-conspirator Hasan Rowhani said yesterday that "We do not desire to see Democrats take over" in the November 2nd presidential election.
Rowhani expanded on his embarrassing views of the contrast between Republican and Democratic administrations, noting that "We haven't seen anything good from Democrats."
In response, a blushing Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said "It's not an endorsement we'll be accepting anytime soon." The ungrateful Stanzel went on to note that "Iran should stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and if they continue in the direction they are going, then we will have to look at what additional action may need to be taken, including looking to the U.N. Security Council."
Notoriously coy regarding international affairs, president Bush refused to comment on the matter, although Rowhani did reply to Stanzel’s remarks in an early morning press conference in Teheran: "Jeez, we were just trying to help… What a dick."
10/11/04
Trouble, Right Here in Crawford City!
As I’ve most likely noted before, there are many fine things to be said about blogging; it affords one the freedom to run the literary gamut from hopelessly self absorbed to truly insightful and thought provoking. That said, it should be abundantly clear to anyone who has happened across this blog that I usually suffer from bouts of the former… if nothing else it’s simply easier to wonder aloud about myself and my kids than to pay attention to the outside world and develop informed opinions about current events. Sort of like developing a habit of exhibitionism simply because its easier than actually meeting people and getting to know them before taking your cloths off. Or something like that. Or then again maybe not.
In any case, it struck me today that I haven’t indulged in one of my other favorite pastimes lately; that of re-posting or linking to other peoples work when I find that they have not only mirrored my own narrow little opinions, but have done it far more eloquently than I ever could.
So here, with just a little further ado, as it were, is a link to an endorsement for John Kerry that ran in a little Texas newspaper called the Lone Star Iconoclast. The beauty of this piece however, is that not only is it clearly reasoned and well written, but it just happens to appear in the hometown paper of Crawford Texas, home to Bush’s artificially manufactured ranch.
While the Iconoclast did indeed endorse Bush’s presidential run in 2000 as well as his call to war, since then the paper’s editors have had the good sense and moral conviction to do something that Bush’s handler’s would never allow: they have let facts and events change their opinion. The Iconoclast’s endorsement is here, and then a short note about the consequences of their decision to run it is here.
Enjoy.
|
Trouble, Right Here in Crawford City!
As I’ve most likely noted before, there are many fine things to be said about blogging; it affords one the freedom to run the literary gamut from hopelessly self absorbed to truly insightful and thought provoking. That said, it should be abundantly clear to anyone who has happened across this blog that I usually suffer from bouts of the former… if nothing else it’s simply easier to wonder aloud about myself and my kids than to pay attention to the outside world and develop informed opinions about current events. Sort of like developing a habit of exhibitionism simply because its easier than actually meeting people and getting to know them before taking your cloths off. Or something like that. Or then again maybe not.
In any case, it struck me today that I haven’t indulged in one of my other favorite pastimes lately; that of re-posting or linking to other peoples work when I find that they have not only mirrored my own narrow little opinions, but have done it far more eloquently than I ever could.
So here, with just a little further ado, as it were, is a link to an endorsement for John Kerry that ran in a little Texas newspaper called the Lone Star Iconoclast. The beauty of this piece however, is that not only is it clearly reasoned and well written, but it just happens to appear in the hometown paper of Crawford Texas, home to Bush’s artificially manufactured ranch.
While the Iconoclast did indeed endorse Bush’s presidential run in 2000 as well as his call to war, since then the paper’s editors have had the good sense and moral conviction to do something that Bush’s handler’s would never allow: they have let facts and events change their opinion. The Iconoclast’s endorsement is here, and then a short note about the consequences of their decision to run it is here.
Enjoy.
