A travelers wishes
A Happy New Year to all my friends and family. This year make a promise to do something that you’ve always dreamed of doing but never thought possible. There are no limitations on life except the ones we put on ourselves. Shrug off your reservations and just go for it. I’ve got big plans for 2009 (more on that later). What are you planning?
Recently I had the misfortune of renting a movie called “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”. I figured since it had Adam Sandler it had to be pretty good. I mean I enjoyed other Adam Sandler movies like “Reign Over Me”, “Spanglish”, “The Waterboy”, “50 First Dates” and others. He’s a very versatile actor, able to play both humorous and serious roles. But this movie stunk as bad as my kids diaper after a chili-fest. Had I considered the premise of the movie more fully (a Special Agent of the Israel Army who grows tired and wants to be a hair-stylist) I should have realized that it would be hard for any writer (no matter how good) to make it work. The movie was filled with ridiculous stupid humor that mainly revolved around Zohan humping anything that moved. I’d like to tell you how the movie ended but I lost interest half-way through and turned it off.
Just got back from checking out the Eugene Christmas Lights Show. It’s the best light show in town. It’s so popular that like tonight, the traffic was backed up around the block and it took a good 30 minutes to actually get the car up in front of the display. Once you get there you tune your car radio to 89.3 FM and enjoy the show. It’s all computerized and the lights dance to the music. There are over 41,800 lights and flicker and flash in perfect timing to the music. It really is spectacular. Follow the link above and check out the official site. There are videos of the display in the “My movies” section of his website.
It’s 2:15AM Christmas morning and I can’t sleep. Maybe part of me is waiting for that mythical Santa to slide down the chimney and restore my belief in the impossible. Maybe I’m just anticipating the moment when my kids wake up and seeing the excitement and bewilderment on their faces as they notice that the cookies and milk left for Santa have been eaten and the carrot left for Rudolf has a big bite out of it. My son was very concerned earlier in the night when he noticed that the fire was still going in the fireplace. “We need to put the fire out so that Santa doesn’t get burned” he told me. “I think Santa has a fireproof suit” I told him. The look on his face told me he wasn’t buying it.
Three years ago my grandma passed away on this day at the age of 97. This post is in memory of the remarkable life she lived and the people she touched. She was a nurse, a wife and a mother to three boys and a grandmother to many more. A fantastic cook, I can still remember all the delicious cookies she baked every Christmas season. Her memory lives on in each and every person that she touched. This photo is from the last Christmas we celebrated together 2004. This Holiday season spend time with your loved ones. Treasure the time we have together.
As I embark on my journey/mission of hunting down presents for the kids I can’t help but reminisce about some of the simpler toys I enjoyed growing up. These were generally toys that didn’t require purchasing a life long investment in AA batteries. The first toy that really comes to mind was Stretch Armstrong, the blond-haired muscular guy in his speedo put out by Kenner where you could pull his arms and legs to extreme lengths. Hours of fun until the limbs started leaking goo. Then there were the Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars. I remember the Tonka trucks, the real ones built with metal. Erector sets, Lincoln logs (the wood ones). There was the Rubik’s Cube, Pick-Up Stix, Barrel of Monkeys. How about the G.I. Joe Action figure? There were the simple toys that were big hits like the Slinky, the Hula Hoop, the original Frisbee which goes to show that great toys don’t need to be hooked up to your TV. I remember those little green plastic army men providing hours of fun on the battlefield. Obviously there are plenty of other nostalgic toys I failed to mention. What were some of your favorite toys?
I have to admit that I felt a bit of pleasure in seeing President Bush dodge shoes thrown by journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi. It’s about time that someone gave him a good dose of reality, although it probably would have registered better if the shoes had hit their target. I think it’s obvious from his moves behind that podium that he has become an expert at dodging things. But how can you really blame Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a man who has seen is Country destroyed by an illegal occupation, who was kidnapped at gunpoint and later released, whose people have suffered significantly for almost 6 years now. The Iraq war has killed 85,000 to 1,000,000 (depending on the survey) innocent Iraqi citizens and created 4.7 million Iraqi refugees (UNHR). Now imagine you are Muntadhar al-Zaidi and have experienced all this death and destruction in your Country. Imagine that you feel you have no options for recourse for what you feel is a wrong against you and your Country. I think in this situation we all may throw a shoe or two to make a statement. I don’t advocate violence or vigilantism but I certainly have empathy for the action Muntadhar al-Zaidi took to make a point.
Woke up this morning to snow on the ground and temperatures in the low 20′s (F). Here is a quick snap of the view.
Tonight I took my boys on a tour of some of the Christmas light displays around town. Here are a few photos of some of the more spectacular displays. You can actually take a limousine tour of the displays throughout the city. We probably saw 5 different limos cruising the neighborhood. I’ve always thought that it would be fun to fill a limo with friends and family and enjoy the lights. More photos can be found on my Flickr site.
Today was our annual pilgrimage to find the perfect Christmas tree. Under cloudy and at times rainy/snowy skies we headed out with Grandpa to Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm When we arrived we first scouted out the small store where they sell trinkets and wreathes as well as hot chocolate and cookies. My boys were interested in the animals around the farm which included cows, pigs a lone goat and 3 turkeys. After looking at the animals for a bit my oldest son reminded us that we were here to get a tree, not look at animals. So we boarded a trailer pulled by a tractor and headed out into the wilds of the farm to find the perfect tree. First we checked out the Canaan Fir but they were still pretty young and not very full. Of course every tree we came across the boys wanted to cut down calling it the “perfect” tree. But I wasn’t satisfied with anything we had seen yet. So we moved down to the Noble Fir section to see if the perfect tree was hiding down there. Since it had rained the ground was very muddy and our boots soon became twice as heavy as mounds of mud caked them. We realized that the search for the perfect tree wouldn’t be easy. Suddenly the clouds parted and a light shined down from the heavens and lit up one tree in the field. It was the perfect tree. We quickly marked it as ours when Grandpa put his red baseball cap on the top. Grabbing the saw we started the chore of separating the tree from the soil that had nurtured it for so long. Our tree turned out to be 10 years old which we calculated by counting the rings in the stump that was left behind. Soon our tractor returned to bring us back to farm headquarters where our tree was shaken on a device to remove all the dead needles and any other thing that may be hiding in the midst of the sea of green needles. Finally our tree was pulled through the baler which makes the tree easier to handle by wrapping up all the branches in twine. Our quest complete we headed for home with our catch resting in the bed of our pickup. Another successful Christmas tree hunt complete.
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