Tag Archives: television

Pre-Family Thoughts

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14

As part of my masters degree, I took a poetry class.  I came across a poem I wrote for the class.I remember being convinced that this poem was witty and wise. Now on the other side of the life situation, I can confirm it was witty and wise though not the full story.

 

NOT YET

Seems just like yesterday, we endlessly rambled on about

Baseball cards, gym class, and ‘Happy Days.’

Now, we converse regarding:

  1. Computer programs,
  2. Health Benefits,
  3. Marriage,
  4. Fatherhood, and
  5. Mortgage Payments

Uggh

The immortal word of Charlie Brown never seemed more appropriate.

I swear I miss Saturday morning cartoons, Summer camp, and Sledding.

 

In a Disney decorated room,

The enthusiastic duo ask, through they are certain they have the answer

Isnt’ the baby adorable? Don’t you want to get married soon? Do you

want to have children?

Into their bliss filled faces I look,

and say slowly

I don’t want those things…yet.

 

Their smile fades into an astonished “ooh.”

Trying to soften the blow, I quickly add

The baby is cute.

 

I sit with the bubbly couple for a while

and listen to a discourse about:

the expense of diapers,

the cutest little smile,

early morning feedings,

adorable outfits , and

the dent on their sex lives.

I react with as much interest as I can stir: hmmph.

 

I guess some day these problems will be mine too.

But

There’s still some batter at the bottom of the bowl,

and I want to lick it up.

 

I slink out of the family house and wondering

Whatever happened to ‘Scooby Doo?’

 

Competition’s Ups and Downs

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21

I believe in competition. I believe that competition ultimately benefits the competitors and society as a whole.

No, I am not running for political office in November (though if I were, I would hope I could count on your support). The competition I am referring to now is the Olympics. I only know of a handful of the athletes representing America. While I hope the American team does great, I am only mildly interested in watching.

Last night was the first of the Olympic competition that I have watched. The event I saw was women’s gymnastics. A little background if I may. My wife loves gymnastics. Her first Olympic experience – viewing that is – was watching Nadia Comaneci. She was enthralled and still talks of watching Nadia. Anyway, my wife knows the sport, the athletes, and even understands the scoring system. So, yesterday while we were watching, I was badgering her with questions, so I could catch up on the who, why, and how.

As I was watching these world class athletes, I was struck by some things. Firstly, they are so young and look like they have been pulled from their SAT prep classes. Secondly, their body shapes are odd. These mighty mites are generally short with the necks of offensive lineman and horse-like thighs. Of course, this comes from hours of training in the gym. These young girls always seem to be the darlings of the Summer Olympics from Retton, to Strug, to Miller, to Dawes, etc.

This year’s little darling was already crowned before the Olympics began. I think I was the only person in America who had never heard of Jordyn Wieber. The 17-year-old, 5’2’, 104-pound gymnastics queen was to be crowned in London as a matter of course. Well, she lost. She failed to qualify for the individual all-around finals. And she was a mess.

This sad little girl crying was one of the first things I saw of the 2012 Olympic Games. She has probably sacrificed her childhood all in the hopes of being an Olympic Champion, and dreamed of this moment through hour upon hour of practice time. She has basked in the media attention and felt proud of being the face of the American team. Now her team could win the gold medal and she can win the gold medal for some individual events, but she will not be the all-around champion.

Of course, the cameras were there to document every moment of Wieber’s disappointment and her teammates’ ascension. I recognize this is news, and the viewing public wants to hear from Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, her teammates who made it to the all-around finals. But Wieber was just a couple of feet behind where the victors were being interviewed. She was barely holding in what seemed like a waterfall. I wish they did not make her wait there for an interview, although she seemed fairly composed when she finally talked. Yes, she is the 2011 world champion and veteran leader of the team, but at that moment, she was just an incredibly sad and disappointed kid.

Yes, I do believe in competiton. Competition means someone loses, and that can be sad. Well, you can now count me as Jordyn Wieber fan. I hope that kid kicks butt throughout the rest of the Olympics.

Positively Productive

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17

School ended a week ago yesterday. Yes, one of the benefits of being a teacher is summers off. While I certainly enjoy having more time and space, I am not the kick back and relax type. In fact, my wife has noted that during the first two weeks of the summer, I use my extra time to look around and feel dissatisfied. You see, one of the lessons I continually learn about myself is I like to feel productive.

So, I made a list of things that I plan on accomplishing in order to have a productive summer. Some of these things are family-related: help BR to feel comfortable riding a bike, help SY improve his reading skills, and go through the kids’ old books. Some are house-related: organize the unmarked CDs (I started last summer).

However, the majority of the list is about me: writing, reading, learning and exercising, etc. It’s a long list and somewhat demanding – requiring time, concentration, and dedication. Isn’t that what goals are for? Well, that’s what I was taught to believe. The only way to grow is to push yourself.

Do you remember the Flintsones’ episode when Fred has an angel on one side and a devil on the other to symbolize his internal conflict? The angel, of course, tries to push him to do the right thing and share the sweepstakes ticket while the devil advises Fred to keep the ticket for himself. I can empathize with Fred. The angel tells me it’s only been a week and I have been productive and besides, I’m entitled to some down time after another challenging school year. It is comforting and exhilarating. The devil tells me nothing is happening this summer, I’ve accomplished zilch, and I have little hope of making things better. It’s depressing and heavy.

So, what’s it going to be – the angel or the devil, the optimist or the pessimist, the doer or the naysayer? It’s time for me to learn the lesson of productivity and positivty again – I want to accomplish.

It’s Funny – Right?

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14

The other day someone told me they had a cancer scare. And I laughed. Wait, wait, wait. Before you judge me, I am not some insensitive beast. Really, I’m not. The woman was reading a piece she had written. She found a lump and was freaked out. The story focused primarily on the anxiety she faced while uncertain if it was malignant, and how the doctors completely lacked any bedside manner. Then, there was the medical staff who instructed her that she would have to wait weeks before even seeing the doctor. Maybe, you had to be there. I don’t know. But it was funny stuff – trust me. Hey, don’t judge. I’m not the only one who thinks anxiety is funny. Heck, Woody Allen has made a career out of this sort of thing!

I love the Three Stooges. I used to wake up early Sunday mornings to watch the fools. Well, early by teenage standards. I’d grab some breakfast, plop myself in front of the television, and turn to channel 29 at 10:00. Smacking faces, pulling hair, hitting heads together – more, more, more. Loved it! My father would come down the stairs, watch for a moment and then look at me. He’d turn up his face and ask, “What are you laughing at? What’s so funny?”

I did not appreciate his interruption. “Huh. I don’t know. It’s just funny.”

He’d turn to watch for another moment, imitate my cackling (that’ what he always called it), and mutter, “Why is it funny to see people hit each other?”

Why not? Many people loved the Stooges who, like Mr. Allen, had a long, successful, and lucrative career. It’s called slapstick. And I loved it. You liked it too, right? You got up early on Sunday mornings or flipped on the television as soon as you got home from school to watch the Stooges and laughed your ass off as they smacked each other around. Right?

“It’s not nice to laugh, Daddy,” SY reprimanded me. He had tripped, his arms went flailing and he said, “Oomph.” He was fine. Okay, he had a couple of little marks on his body but nothing earth shattering. There wasn’t even any blood. So, I laughed. You would have laughed too if you had seen it. Hilarious.

Look, I said in the “About” section that I laugh at weird times. I am not a masochist. I feel empathy. I wait until I see the person is fine…then, I laugh. Not weird, nothing wrong with that. This does not hearken back to some deep-seated issues. I’m fine. Really.