Our Dog Lucky Is Weird

First, Lucky stuck her head in a box of snacks. She kept her head in the box of snacks for a long time. I went to get the camera, and she knocked the box off of her head with her paws. The photo I took catches the last moment before the box fell off.


Then, another day, Lucky just kind of laid down on the floor, while we were changing the sheets on the bed. We threw a pillow down, and it landed on her head. She didn't move or flinch. Even though she was awake, she stayed there with a pillow over her head. Tell me the last time you saw a dog do that. She is not right.

Labor Day

Carl marched in the Labor Day parade, which was fun to see. At the beginning of the parade, there was an emergency call, and an ambulance and fire truck in the parade had to hit their lights and sirens for real, and then raced down the street. It was weird to see.

Carl is the little guy playing saxophone. The band practiced Led Zepplin's "Immigrant Song." How cool is that?

The Bike Saga

So, I ordered a bike at the end of August. I was expecting it on September 8th. Late on the afternoon of the 8th, I got a call from Al, of Lloyd's Paint and Paper in Crystal Lake, Illinois, who called to tell me he received my package and it looked like it was in pretty bad shape.

I called and emailed the bike company and UPS, and although it took a little bit for each to understand the situation, I think they did right by me. At first, UPS said I would need to contact the company I bought the bike from, and the company would call UPS and decide how to resolve the problem. So I did that. However, the company people could read as well as I could, and when we tracked the package, it showed it was still in transit, and therefore, there is not yet a problem. I called UPS back, and told them I knew where the bike was, and instead of going through some drawn out process, couldn't they simply retrieve their mis-delivered package, and send it to me? They actually agreed that that made sense, and dispatched someone to pick it up.

Here's the funny thing: Even though UPS apologized every time I spoke with them, and were sorry that they mis-delivered my package, and were willing to go get it and send it to me, when I tracked the package again, the folks at UPS listed the package not as being mis-delivered, but that the receiver of the package, one Al, requested a change of delivery address, and it was now being sent to my address.

Why can't people or companies simply admit when they make a mistake? I would respect that a lot more than the responsibility dodging "solution" that is the official story from UPS.

Regardless of the human drama, here are some pictures of the fattest guy you know enjoying the hell out of his new bike!

Bike riding has changed

When I was a kid, I owned Stonington on my bike. I rode from one end of town to the other, and never looked back. I would ride from dinner time until 9:59 pm. I had to be back home by 10 pm to help pack my Dad's mine bucket (he worked third shift). I rode my bike five miles to the farm where I worked in the morning in the summer, and five miles back home. A bike was freedom!

I still have the bike I rode all those years. It is a swing bike (not Schwinn, Swing) and it has a headset under the seat, and the back wheel turns like the front wheel. Mine was originally orange. I painted it several times, but the last time, I painted it black, and put on five spoke black mag wheels. Here is a picture of a swing bike:



So picture me on the back of this thing now, 100 pounds heavier than when I rode it all the time. But, I still got it! It is fun to ride, but I decided that the time was right to buy a new bike. I ordered it today. Here is a picture of the new one:



Now, while I am ordering mine, I approach Carl, and ask him if he would like a cool new bike, since his old one has seen its better days. He was like, "Eh." The girls have cool bikes, and Lara also indicated she would rather have surgery than ride bikes. This is a fundamental way in which we are different.

The title of the post, however, relates to how as parents, we just can't let Carl, Maggie, or Katie just go riding, like I used to when I was a kid. I'm not one of those who look back and say, "In my day, we could...(insert your own hyperbole here)." BUT, there is no way in hell I would let Carl ride over to his buddy's house across town by himself, let alone take a five mile ride in the country on his own twice a day.

If the times haven't changed, if bike riding hasn't changed, then I can only ask "What the hell were my parents thinking 30 years ago?!?!?"

Of course, the times have changed, and riding bikes has changed, too. But, I'm looking forward to the new cruiser.

A Sweet Day To Share Sadness.....

At the end of July and the first part of August, we took time off to work on the house and spend time with the kids. It was during this time that we learned that Sean, Lara's cousin and dear friend, died. It's hard for me to talk about his death, because I didn't really get to know Sean very well, but I know by the depth of pain felt by those close to him, like Tanya, Lara, and Dee, that he was a wonderful, sweet person. Some people were angry because Sean took his own life; some attempted to understand the nature of addiction which drove him to his end; some simply missed him and wished he were still here, and would have done anything to change what had happened.

Despite the somber circumstances which brought us together, these were wonderful pictures of Tanya with the family.







Our thoughts continue to be with Sean's family. May you rest in peace, Sean.

An Overview of the Last Couple of Weeks...

includes a visit from Emily, Maggie and Katie's friend, and pictures from Nashville. Enjoy:

The Massac County Youth Fair...

has become a yearly event for us. Each year, the kids participate in the greased pig contest. Here are some pictures:

Treez B Gone

One call, a few dollars, and our storm damaged trees are officially gone. We have had the fortune of a Sassafras tree springing up wild near one of our old trees. Here are some pictures:

Our Wonderful Mini-Vacation...

As July began, we packed up the family, and embarked on our mini-vacation. First stop, Six Flags!

While we were at Six Flags, one of the ride attendants dropped Carl's glasses, and we had to stay the whole day and night (until 10 pm) to retrieve them. However, we made the most of out time. We picnicked in the parking lot, rode all the rides we wanted, saw some performances, and stayed for the night parade, which was fun. We had a long drive to Springfield, Illinois, but ended up at Jim and Nan's house around 2 am. We slept like the dead!

The next day, we were going to spend the afternoon at the Springfield beach, have a picnic, and see some sights, but the beach was closed (hence the kids' sad looks in the first pics below). However, we got over it, had a wonderful walk on the Lincoln Memorial Garden trails, and then spend the evening with Lara's grandparents, and had awesomely good ice cream at Krekel's in Springfield.

We got up the next morning, and drove BACK to St. Louis to spend a day at the zoo. We were joined by Jim and Nan.

We had a great day, and made it back home to Metropolis by about 10 pm that night.

Lara and I had a chance to see some old friends in Carbondale that night, but age was catching up to us, and we decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Unfortunately, when we got home, Lucky, our new dog, had injured herself in her kennel, rubbing her nose raw and chipping her front teeth on the kennel door. Even with someone watching her and letting her out regularly, she worried herself practically sick. We have decided that it is probably time to take our chances with the dog in the house instead of the kennel, or the next time we travel, we will professionally kennel her.

We went down to the river and watched the fireworks in Metropolis on the 4th. They were beautiful.

June Means Daylilys (and other flowers)

Our backyard is practically covered in daylilys right now. Here are some pictures: