To Grandma and Grandpa’s
To eat like a pig.
Home again, home again,
Jiggety-jig.
—
G’night, all.
Author: J. Thorp
Summer Vacation, Day 32: Big Breakfast!
We all try to pitch in with a meal and drinks and stuff when we descend on Jodi’s folks’ house, so this morning we made breakfast: chocolate-chip-banana pancakes (with a splash of vanilla), eggs (scrambled and “cowboy” – what the young’ns call “over-easy”), bacon and orange juice.
I think there were seventeen mouths to feed; I cooked roughly a dozen and a half eggs, two pounds of bacon and nearly a gallon of pancake batter; and Jodi poured a gallon of oranges juice and multiple glasses of milk, to boot. We ran short on bacon; I cut up and browned a leftover bratwurst, and someone ate a cold chicken leg.
Left-overs? Three pancakes. All in all, we gauged it pretty well.
Summer Vacation, Day 31: Independence Day Stream of Consciousness
I was looking for the exact circumstances of a quote by Ben Franklin for today. Coincidentally, the top search return was a speech by Ron Paul on his official House of Representatives Web site. This is interesting to me, because I find myself feeling increasingly libertarian these days, and increasingly convinced that our problems must first be solved in our own backyards.
Here’s the bit, as referenced by Congressman Paul:
At the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a Mrs. Powel anxiously awaited the results, and as Benjamin Franklin emerged from the long task now finished, asked him directly: “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” “A republic if you can keep it” responded Franklin.
A society as free as ours is bound to raise up various and noxious weeds among our “amber waves of grain” – but I wouldn’t live anywhere else (at least, not permanently), nor would I sacrifice these personal freedoms for a supposedly cleaner or safer society. If we are to secure both our freedoms and a safe and sane society, we must start at home. I’ll work harder at that, starting right now …
Gotta go squeeze the Thorplets – happy Independence Day, my friends!
Summer Vacation, Day 30: Nothing Doing
Managed to spend today visiting with family, reading Moby Dick, and watching Puck try to decipher the comings and goings of phantom gophers and rabbits. Guess I did make a run into Rapid City to take the boys to a great hobby shop and a nice little used book store. Got three of the remaining four books I needed for Coach’s summer reading project: Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and a solid verse translation of Homer’s The Odyssey.
Still searching for an affordable copy of McCarthy’s Blood Meridian – even used, it’s pricey. Maybe I should bag it and read Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, since it’s already on the bookshelf.
Only thing that could’ve made me feel better about the day? About a dozen pages of new fiction, written and saved. Ah, well – can’t have everything …
Summer Vacation, Day 29: An Unexpected Blessing
Unbeknownst to me, downtown Rapid City is hosting a deeply moving and inspiring exhibit, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People. The exhibit includes photos, videos and artifacts from Karol Wojtyla’s childhood through his papacy and death, tracing his strong ties to, and profound affection for, the Jewish people in his native Poland and throughout the world.
Jodi and I took Brendan and Gabe to see it today. It cost $5 for the family, and the tickets are good for duration of the display (through August 13). It’s very content-rich – you probably should visit it more than once to take it all in, especially the videos. Some of the video interview material from the Holocaust is a bit much for children, but it’s easily avoided. Reading aloud to the boys, my voice broke often – it’s hard to imagine such cruelty and compassion among neighbors and neighboring countries.
But the lasting message is one of peace, understanding, and common humanity that transcends race or religion. Well worth $5, my friends. The exhibit has been there since May 2, and attendance has been low. If you have the chance, go.
Archangel Stomp 