I went out yesterday morniing and the entire nest is destroyed...but no little egg shells...I am thinking some evil rat bastard of a lizard climbed up the bush and into the nest, devoured the eggs and trashed the nest. I am almost sad for the little crack ho birdie. Survival of the fittest FER SHURE
tomorrow is my birthday. hope i don't get devoured by a lizard......
26 June 2010
18 June 2010
The Crack Ho is Back in Town
Hadn't seen the bird in a while...figgered she flew off in shame for leaving her unborn babies like THAT, so imagine my surprise when I went outside to water my dead bush (I thought I better, since it hasn't rained since March and probably won't again til July), and as I start spraying the dead leaves (and a few surprisingly hardy and beautiful flowers! click on this photo at left to see what i mean - seriously, NO water in 2 months!!) the bush shook to life and a bird flew up at my face. I swatted madly, drenching myself in the process, and when I could breathe again, I noticed that little bitch had built ANOTHER damn nest on my patio...AND she had laid 2 eggs in it!
OK, the last time, she was relatively protected from the WILD in my window sill, behind the iron bars, but NOW she has precariously perched the HOME OF HER CHILDREN on the ledge of the patio. It is a mere 3 inches wide, and somehow, she has managed to build it INTO the bush....which when watered made her home shake like it was built on the San Andreas fault.Look, I love nature as much as the next guy, but seriously, WTF? Darwin truly knew what he was talking about when he mentioned survival of the fittest. This bird is an idiot, but she does have a bullheaded stubborn streak and a desperate will to procreate, I will give her that much....Maybe that's why I never had children.....always searching too hard for a nice safe haven to HAVE them, and never finding it, have arrived at this great age with my nest barren...
Let's see what the next few days bring. I know there is also a bunny burrowed into my patio...Although I probably flooded him out today, too.... and I someone told me they saw a rattle snake in the courtyard....I bet they just LOVE little eggs.
15 June 2010
something borrowed...again
Auds over at Barking Mad is taking a bit of a respite, and since I am a lazy ass slacker I figured I would tag along...Just to be clear....she stole it from another blog I don't follow but which has some pretty KER-AZY shit on it.....
1. It's 2AM and you are not home. You are more than likely: well if I was 26, I would be at a gay disco on Miami Beach whooping it up.....but I ain't 26, and I am no where near Miami Beach...ahh to be young again....now if I am not home, or in a hotel on the road, you better activate my implanted homing device cuz there is NO telling where I have wandered 
off to!
2. What's the last thing you spent more than $100 on? My eye doctor this morning...sonuvabitch.....my retinas look like giant boobs with varicose veins. Before that, new shoes for my baby (aka my 1995 saturn)
3. What do your bank checks look like? hmmm little rectangle things...maybe tan? nothing special, and definitely FREE from the bank.
4. Where did the shirt you are currently wearing come from? Macys5. Name something that will be on your Christmas wish list: A telescope and a propane stove.
6. What color is your toothbrush? ummm ya know, I don't think I know...oh yes, it is a Braun so it must be blue and white
7. Name something you collect and tell us about it. Patches - the kind you used to sew on back packs and denim jackets. I collect THESE instead of t-shirts from all the places I go since I was 18...much easier to tote around than the tshirts, AND they always fit!! Some day I plan to sew them on a blanket or something...I am missing a few, but I have over 200 from cities and states and countries I have visited. They are getting harder and harder to find!
8. Last restaurant you ate at. Who were you with? How was it? Bario Brewery. With a bunch of rocket scientists and aerospace experts (yawwwwnnn). The chicken quesadilla was great, but I am not a fan of diet RC. 
9. Who was the last person you bought a birthday card for? bought? I don't buy cards. I MAKE cards! You want to buy one, email me!
10. What is your worst bad habit? Procrastinating and never finishing ANYTHING.
11. Name a magazine you subscribe to? Body & Soul.
12. Your favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni, Pineapple and Jalapeno...all on the same pizza.
13. Whose number were you looking up the last time you used a phone book? Wow. man that takes me back...remember those things? gosh, I always used to check and see if my name was in there and how many people with my name there were....I can NOT remember the last time I used a phone book for its intended purpose....right now they fill an empty space in my pots and pans drawer
14. Other than family, who is the person that you love most? I am much too lazy to answer this - too much explanation 
would be required.
15. What is the last thing you cooked? Camping, I made THE most amazing pancakes ever known to man....
16. Name something you wouldn't want to buy used? Feminine hygiene products
17. Which shoe do you put on first? which ever one I grab first.
18. What is the last thing you remember losing? I don't think it counts, cuz I don't lose things, and I don't get lost...but this IS pretty funny in retrospect
19. What is the ugliest piece of furniture in your house? compared to what? the only matching furniture is in the bed room.....everything else has just been accumulated
20. Last thing you bought and ended up returning? I bought a flashlight, and it didn't work so I am bringing it back tomorrow! piece of CRAP!!
21. What perfume/cologne do you wear? If none, why? I like Samsara and Hypnotic Poison, but they frown on perfume at the gym, and that it the only place I go...so just a spritz of something by apothecary keeps me smelling yummy
22. Your favorite board game? Scrabble. I play with my self sometimes....
23. What was the last board game you played? see above
24. Where did your vehicle come from? The dealer - my first new car....1994...it was the first car sold for the new year...boy was I a sucker, but I think I have gotten my money's worth.
25. If a movie was made about your life what would the theme song be? "Sara Smile" by Hall and Oates.
26. You're sad, who can cheer you up easily? Generally, no one tries.....and it is better that way - I don't like being told to cheer up, or be reminded that OTHERS are worse off than me. I drag myself up or sit here and mope til I feel better...as I said, I play with myself.....
27. What was the color of the bridesmaid dresses of the last wedding you went to? I think they were peach...I only had eyes for someone not in the wedding party.....NO...they were white with big Purple and pink and peach sashes....
28. What house cleaning chore do you hate to do the most? Dusting and cleaning the shower.
29. What is your favorite way to eat chicken? In a cheese quesadilla...
30. It is your birthday. You hope the cake is? It will be whatever I want....see #26
13 June 2010
Memory Capturer
Sitting on the shady porch of El Tovar, the main thing I become aware of are people who don't or can't or won't, simply 
SEE. From the sad family in the mini van, to the child on the leash, who is tired and cranky, and resistant to moving on command. "C'mon," wheedles his mother, "we're going to get some chicken nuggets." He perks up, picks up and trots off happily.
Liam (100 yards away) announced quite proudly, "I picked up poooop!"
As I sat on my picnic table after dinner, reading, I heard soft footsteps behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a deer, walking towards my camp site, sniffing here and there. Motionless, I watched her walk in, and around my tent. I could hear people from other camp sites getting excited about a LIVE DEER!!!!! and the kids were shrieking and squealing, but I stayed still and just watched her continue towards my car and around it to a particularly succulent bush. I resisted the urge to get my camera out, as I didn't want to startle her. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a little boy begin to approach, then his dad, grabbed him and held him back. The deer stopped grazing a few times and just looked at me.....and when she had had enough, she ambled through the Cry Baby camp. They were gone, so they missed it. I am sure she left Liam some fresh poop somewhere along the path.
There was a man sitting at the bus stop with a fancy camera....taking pictures of the stars, or trying to anyway, and wondering WHY he couldn't seem to get anything. I am not a photographer, but explained that his flash was useless, that his focus (despite being set to infinity) had nothing to focus on, and that the shutter wasn't staying open long enough for any star light to get in. I suggested a tripod, and a longer exposure....but then I think that is FILM photography. Can you slow the shutter speed, change the aperture and all that with a digital camera? In any event, I convinced them to go to the Star Party and look through the telescopes if they REALLY wanted to see the stars
Mmmmmm Star Party. Venus was very bright, near Gemini; Mars was just above Regulus in Leo - to see the red and the blue in close conjunction like that was neat; and Saturn was a little further along the elliptic. Bernie didn't have a star tracker, but he was the first to find it visually. The rings were clearly visible, as was Titan. My binoculars couldn't quite resolve any of the planets, sadly. My eyes are definitely in some sort of bad place....no night vision at all!
There was a guy at the Ranger Talk who remembered when there was a swimming pool at Phantom Ranch....He swam in it back in the 60s. It has since been filled in, but it was kinda neat that he was back 40 years later....
What is WRONG with these people who feel it necessary to talk during the sun set? And yes, I only sat amongst a group of people ONCE....Do I have a some grandiose, yet false, sense of priority or reverence? (I actually feel the urge to cry, pray and then applaud at sunset).
Why did the Park feel it necessary to install a cell phone tour along the rim trail and bring free wifi to the cafeteria? I am sure people asked for it, and they complied.....The place was packed with people glued to their laptops. I just do NOT get it!?
SEE. From the sad family in the mini van, to the child on the leash, who is tired and cranky, and resistant to moving on command. "C'mon," wheedles his mother, "we're going to get some chicken nuggets." He perks up, picks up and trots off happily.Liam (100 yards away) announced quite proudly, "I picked up poooop!"
As I sat on my picnic table after dinner, reading, I heard soft footsteps behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a deer, walking towards my camp site, sniffing here and there. Motionless, I watched her walk in, and around my tent. I could hear people from other camp sites getting excited about a LIVE DEER!!!!! and the kids were shrieking and squealing, but I stayed still and just watched her continue towards my car and around it to a particularly succulent bush. I resisted the urge to get my camera out, as I didn't want to startle her. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a little boy begin to approach, then his dad, grabbed him and held him back. The deer stopped grazing a few times and just looked at me.....and when she had had enough, she ambled through the Cry Baby camp. They were gone, so they missed it. I am sure she left Liam some fresh poop somewhere along the path.
There was a man sitting at the bus stop with a fancy camera....taking pictures of the stars, or trying to anyway, and wondering WHY he couldn't seem to get anything. I am not a photographer, but explained that his flash was useless, that his focus (despite being set to infinity) had nothing to focus on, and that the shutter wasn't staying open long enough for any star light to get in. I suggested a tripod, and a longer exposure....but then I think that is FILM photography. Can you slow the shutter speed, change the aperture and all that with a digital camera? In any event, I convinced them to go to the Star Party and look through the telescopes if they REALLY wanted to see the stars
Mmmmmm Star Party. Venus was very bright, near Gemini; Mars was just above Regulus in Leo - to see the red and the blue in close conjunction like that was neat; and Saturn was a little further along the elliptic. Bernie didn't have a star tracker, but he was the first to find it visually. The rings were clearly visible, as was Titan. My binoculars couldn't quite resolve any of the planets, sadly. My eyes are definitely in some sort of bad place....no night vision at all!There was a guy at the Ranger Talk who remembered when there was a swimming pool at Phantom Ranch....He swam in it back in the 60s. It has since been filled in, but it was kinda neat that he was back 40 years later....
What is WRONG with these people who feel it necessary to talk during the sun set? And yes, I only sat amongst a group of people ONCE....Do I have a some grandiose, yet false, sense of priority or reverence? (I actually feel the urge to cry, pray and then applaud at sunset).Why did the Park feel it necessary to install a cell phone tour along the rim trail and bring free wifi to the cafeteria? I am sure people asked for it, and they complied.....The place was packed with people glued to their laptops. I just do NOT get it!?
12 June 2010
The Sound of Silence
I am a terrible conversationalist. I don't "chat." I don't like doing it on the phone and I don't do it in person. I am not the person you want to invite to come over for tea. I will sit there on your chintz sofa and dully stare at your china and wait for your phone to ring.
Maybe it is the years of forced isolation...maybe I am just really dull or stupid....or maybe I just don't CARE enough about anything. My facebook status for a while was, "I don't have CRS, I just DGF (Don't Giva Fuck)" and it is really true. I just don't have "deep thoughts" on significant subjects that I feel are worthy of discussing. I would rather sit in silence and listen to the insects and the wind, the crunch of the sand under my hands, to hear the freight train of a California Condor as he rises from the depths, than to talk about oil spills or politics, or boys or whether caffeine is the dark lord, or anything else. I would rather sit still and listen to the wind chimes, than anything on television, and I would rather lie on a picnic table under a vast ocean of blackness that silently spins around my body! I would rather swaddle my ears with big headphones and close my eyes to the world and become enveloped and surrounded by sound, than have to create meaningful sounds of my own!
The idle "chatter" of people talking about nothing confuses me. Is it because I so often HAVE no one to talk to? Or rather, no one to simply LISTEN? I am more accustomed to quiet, perhaps, more capable of being silent for long stretches than most people I know. Do your lips ever stick together when part them for the first time during the day sometime around noon to order a sandwich? Does the sound of your own voice sometimes surprise you?
Mine does.
Maybe it is the years of forced isolation...maybe I am just really dull or stupid....or maybe I just don't CARE enough about anything. My facebook status for a while was, "I don't have CRS, I just DGF (Don't Giva Fuck)" and it is really true. I just don't have "deep thoughts" on significant subjects that I feel are worthy of discussing. I would rather sit in silence and listen to the insects and the wind, the crunch of the sand under my hands, to hear the freight train of a California Condor as he rises from the depths, than to talk about oil spills or politics, or boys or whether caffeine is the dark lord, or anything else. I would rather sit still and listen to the wind chimes, than anything on television, and I would rather lie on a picnic table under a vast ocean of blackness that silently spins around my body! I would rather swaddle my ears with big headphones and close my eyes to the world and become enveloped and surrounded by sound, than have to create meaningful sounds of my own!
The idle "chatter" of people talking about nothing confuses me. Is it because I so often HAVE no one to talk to? Or rather, no one to simply LISTEN? I am more accustomed to quiet, perhaps, more capable of being silent for long stretches than most people I know. Do your lips ever stick together when part them for the first time during the day sometime around noon to order a sandwich? Does the sound of your own voice sometimes surprise you?
Mine does.
11 June 2010
Camping 2010
Me. at rest. Despite the crack in my forehead, I am supremely happy in this photo! The main point of the trip was to be far away from the computer, 
and the phone, and not missing either at all. I spent 5 days camping by myself in the Grand Canyon...although to say I was "alone" would be a stretch. There were thousands of other people there visiting, most of whom left at the end of the day. The camp site was full each night, and most of my neighbors were considerate, good campers.
As in years past, there are always the ones who just don't cut it. The ones who really should have gone to Disneyland, or stayed at the hotel, or at the very least, rented an RV and stayed in Trailer Village. Case in point were the Cry Baby contingent south west of my site with Alex, Aaron and Lily, and the Poop Picker Uppers with Liam, Willow and Sierra to the North west.
Both contingents had 3 small children under 9 I am guessing, PLUS a baby. Each morning one of the babies would wake in the dawn hours and wail for a solid 10 - 15 minutes. Once the babies were awake, of course the kids got up and the parents of BOTH camps, let their little evil doers run wild through the camp site.
Liam was very fond of finding and playing with deer scat, and his sisters had a habit of riding off on their bike bicycles causing mother much stress. She would stand in her camp site and BELLOW their names. I wanted to tell her that they weren't responding cuz they had RIDDEN OFF ON THE BIKES YOU BROUGHT
FOR THEM TO RIDE ON, but I didn't see the point. Alex, of the Cry Baby camp across the street, was constantly bawling about some injustice or another. One time he tried to play with the Poop Pickers and they had apparently snubbed his friendly advances and wouldn't play with him. he has a god awful habit of trudging to the bathroom, NOT on the conveniently located path that went straight there, but insisted on taking a LONG cut through the middle of MY camp site. My evil eye stare did nothing to disabuse him of this habit. They all left on Saturday, and on Sunday morning, I actually slept until 7am - what a quiet morning that was! Even the bastard ravens were quiet for a change!
This is my 5th visit, and my 4th camping trip, to the Grand Canyon, and it simply does not fail to astound me EVERY time! The first visit was with my mother, brother and sister, back in 1980. We took this grand driving tour, from Denver, to Salt Lake City, Reno, San Francisco (where our father met up with us), down the California coast, to LA (where daddy left again), then over to Flagstaff, and a mofning drive through the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, Four Corners, and then back to Denver. In 2006, I came with the guy I was dating for the Star Party. We broke up shortly thereafter, but I enjoyed the Star Party so much, I got my aunt to come back with me in 2007 and 2008.
Last year, I would have come, but instead, spent the whole month in Hawaii. I was back this year, even though my aunt canceled her plans a mere week ago! I toyed with the idea of not going at all, but in the end, I am very glad I did. Tomorrow I will post something a little more reflective, as i did a lot of thinking and musing and pondering and even took some notes on scraps of paper, since I forgot my journal....
The photos are nothing that spectacular, I don't have the right camera or talent to capture all those colors you see in professional photographs, but to be quite honest, the light is SO bright, it is hard to really take an honest photograph! Even my memories of the view are bleached almost colorless. The sunsets this year were nothing too spectacular, unfortunately, but the star gazing was awesome!!...Oh, and the white dirty thing is a pancake with almonds, sunflower seeds, cranberries and raisins, and a few chocolate chips. I did flip it over to cook this side too and it was incredible!
The last three were manipulated with Microsoft Picture it just for fun.
and the phone, and not missing either at all. I spent 5 days camping by myself in the Grand Canyon...although to say I was "alone" would be a stretch. There were thousands of other people there visiting, most of whom left at the end of the day. The camp site was full each night, and most of my neighbors were considerate, good campers.As in years past, there are always the ones who just don't cut it. The ones who really should have gone to Disneyland, or stayed at the hotel, or at the very least, rented an RV and stayed in Trailer Village. Case in point were the Cry Baby contingent south west of my site with Alex, Aaron and Lily, and the Poop Picker Uppers with Liam, Willow and Sierra to the North west.
Both contingents had 3 small children under 9 I am guessing, PLUS a baby. Each morning one of the babies would wake in the dawn hours and wail for a solid 10 - 15 minutes. Once the babies were awake, of course the kids got up and the parents of BOTH camps, let their little evil doers run wild through the camp site.Liam was very fond of finding and playing with deer scat, and his sisters had a habit of riding off on their bike bicycles causing mother much stress. She would stand in her camp site and BELLOW their names. I wanted to tell her that they weren't responding cuz they had RIDDEN OFF ON THE BIKES YOU BROUGHT
FOR THEM TO RIDE ON, but I didn't see the point. Alex, of the Cry Baby camp across the street, was constantly bawling about some injustice or another. One time he tried to play with the Poop Pickers and they had apparently snubbed his friendly advances and wouldn't play with him. he has a god awful habit of trudging to the bathroom, NOT on the conveniently located path that went straight there, but insisted on taking a LONG cut through the middle of MY camp site. My evil eye stare did nothing to disabuse him of this habit. They all left on Saturday, and on Sunday morning, I actually slept until 7am - what a quiet morning that was! Even the bastard ravens were quiet for a change! 
This is my 5th visit, and my 4th camping trip, to the Grand Canyon, and it simply does not fail to astound me EVERY time! The first visit was with my mother, brother and sister, back in 1980. We took this grand driving tour, from Denver, to Salt Lake City, Reno, San Francisco (where our father met up with us), down the California coast, to LA (where daddy left again), then over to Flagstaff, and a mofning drive through the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, Four Corners, and then back to Denver. In 2006, I came with the guy I was dating for the Star Party. We broke up shortly thereafter, but I enjoyed the Star Party so much, I got my aunt to come back with me in 2007 and 2008. 
Last year, I would have come, but instead, spent the whole month in Hawaii. I was back this year, even though my aunt canceled her plans a mere week ago! I toyed with the idea of not going at all, but in the end, I am very glad I did. Tomorrow I will post something a little more reflective, as i did a lot of thinking and musing and pondering and even took some notes on scraps of paper, since I forgot my journal....
The photos are nothing that spectacular, I don't have the right camera or talent to capture all those colors you see in professional photographs, but to be quite honest, the light is SO bright, it is hard to really take an honest photograph! Even my memories of the view are bleached almost colorless. The sunsets this year were nothing too spectacular, unfortunately, but the star gazing was awesome!!...Oh, and the white dirty thing is a pancake with almonds, sunflower seeds, cranberries and raisins, and a few chocolate chips. I did flip it over to cook this side too and it was incredible!The last three were manipulated with Microsoft Picture it just for fun.
10 June 2010
random observation at the Canyon
As I was finishing up my lovely week of solo camping, I encountered a very sad family. I had just finished my 8 minute shower (2 minutes longer than it really needs to be...couldn't they charge 50 cents less, and save some water?), and felt all squeaky clean, ready to face the long drive back home. As I am sitting in my car letting my feet dry, listening to the wind in the trees, this mini van pulls up and what I easily guessed to be the dad was yelling at the others in the car. I could tell he had tried to say these things before but no one ever HEARD him.
Kid: [whine voice] Why are we stopping HERE? This isn't the Grand Canyon!
Dad: We are just parking here and we will hike up to the rim [Dad had made an error here...the better place to park is near the market or Shrine of Ages - both completely available, free parking areas, and CLOSE to where the shuttle buses pick up]. Don't forget your water bottles
Kid: [whine voice] I didn't bring one. How come you didn't tell us to bring one???
Dad: [defensive, "told you so" tone] I told you guys we were going camping!
Wife: [had just about enough of this car trip] You never told them to bring their water bottles
Dad: Of course I told them - I know I said we were going to camp! [ahh, but did he EXPLICITLY tell the little pecker heads to bring their water bottles, AND tell them why they would need them, and how thirsty they would be without them, and how expensive and environmentally unfriendly a plastic water bottle can be?? I think NOT]
He gets out and the wife slowly gets out, neither has on a hat, neither has a fanny pack, neither has spent 2 minutes putting on sun screen....but they have water bottles. As they walk off, the kids are dawdling.
Dad: [bellowing]: Come ON!! What are you guys doing??
Kid 1 runs after them, then Kid 2, neither with hats or water bottles, and Dad bleep bleep locks car. As they walk off toward the trail to the rim, I hear them all mildly bickering back and forth. Dad trying to be energetic and excited, mom sounding tired and ignored, and the kids just being little turds..."so where IS the Grand Canyon?" "this is stupid." etc.
I roll my eyes and think how sad to come all this way and just fight about everything, and THEN to park in such an inconvenient place simply 'cuz you didn't take 5 minutes to look at the map. I drove over to the camp site office and turned in my tag, and as I was driving out, I saw them all trudging back to the car, mom screaming at dad about how he should have KNOWN that was a bad idea, and dad trying to placate her and the whiney kids!
Feeling all full of good deeds and overflowing with love for the Canyon, I turn back into the Camper Service lot and pull into a space a few spots over. I decide to pretend I was going to throw away some trash, and walk by the van. Mom is now sitting behind the wheel and I walk up, she looks SO sad and miserable. Her pretty blue eyes full of tears. I asked if I could help them out at all. 
No, no, she insists they are fine. Dad has gone inside apparently to talk to someone. I said, I have been here a week and if you need any help or suggestions, I will be happy to help. She doesn't look at me and says again, they are fine.
So, I go throw away my "trash" and head back to my car. I noticed they had a camping tag for just one night. They are going to set up tents and ALL that, for ONE night, and they
are already at each others throats....gawd.....
I know we were that ugly to my mother and father when we were kids. I know my parents yelled at each other like that on our trips through western Canada and Colorado, and I remember a doozy of a match in a blinding thunder storm in east Texas. The pictures here are a mix...one was up to Colorado in the summer of I think 1969, which I don't remember much at all; and the other in Canada I am guessing 1971-
from Calgary, we went up into the Rocky Mountains, Banff, Lake Louise, and over through British Columbia, Vancouver, down to Puget Sound and Seattle. The memories I have of that trip are as foggy as the weather was, but I see the photos and HOPE my parents had more fun than this family was having!
By the time I was in high school, mom took us on those summer trips without dad - he was too busy with work to be gone f
or weeks on end, and I doubt we could have taken each other for that long anyway. One summer she took us to the Grand Canyon, and I still remember that trip. Just a few hours - we drove in, saw the view from a couple of the pull outs, then drove on again to the Painted Desert.
None of my frickin' business, I KNOW, but I wish I could have told that family to be kinder to each other; to cherish the memory of going to the Grand Canyon together....there are so many things I have said and done to my family that I wish I could take back...
(all photos except one, were taken by my father with the fancy SLR Canon camera he had just got...I have it now, and need to learn how to use it properly.....Mom took the other photo and it is the only one of him and us in the whole set)
Kid: [whine voice] Why are we stopping HERE? This isn't the Grand Canyon!
Dad: We are just parking here and we will hike up to the rim [Dad had made an error here...the better place to park is near the market or Shrine of Ages - both completely available, free parking areas, and CLOSE to where the shuttle buses pick up]. Don't forget your water bottles
Kid: [whine voice] I didn't bring one. How come you didn't tell us to bring one???
Dad: [defensive, "told you so" tone] I told you guys we were going camping!
Wife: [had just about enough of this car trip] You never told them to bring their water bottles
Dad: Of course I told them - I know I said we were going to camp! [ahh, but did he EXPLICITLY tell the little pecker heads to bring their water bottles, AND tell them why they would need them, and how thirsty they would be without them, and how expensive and environmentally unfriendly a plastic water bottle can be?? I think NOT]
He gets out and the wife slowly gets out, neither has on a hat, neither has a fanny pack, neither has spent 2 minutes putting on sun screen....but they have water bottles. As they walk off, the kids are dawdling.
Dad: [bellowing]: Come ON!! What are you guys doing??
Kid 1 runs after them, then Kid 2, neither with hats or water bottles, and Dad bleep bleep locks car. As they walk off toward the trail to the rim, I hear them all mildly bickering back and forth. Dad trying to be energetic and excited, mom sounding tired and ignored, and the kids just being little turds..."so where IS the Grand Canyon?" "this is stupid." etc.
I roll my eyes and think how sad to come all this way and just fight about everything, and THEN to park in such an inconvenient place simply 'cuz you didn't take 5 minutes to look at the map. I drove over to the camp site office and turned in my tag, and as I was driving out, I saw them all trudging back to the car, mom screaming at dad about how he should have KNOWN that was a bad idea, and dad trying to placate her and the whiney kids!
Feeling all full of good deeds and overflowing with love for the Canyon, I turn back into the Camper Service lot and pull into a space a few spots over. I decide to pretend I was going to throw away some trash, and walk by the van. Mom is now sitting behind the wheel and I walk up, she looks SO sad and miserable. Her pretty blue eyes full of tears. I asked if I could help them out at all. 
No, no, she insists they are fine. Dad has gone inside apparently to talk to someone. I said, I have been here a week and if you need any help or suggestions, I will be happy to help. She doesn't look at me and says again, they are fine.So, I go throw away my "trash" and head back to my car. I noticed they had a camping tag for just one night. They are going to set up tents and ALL that, for ONE night, and they
are already at each others throats....gawd.....I know we were that ugly to my mother and father when we were kids. I know my parents yelled at each other like that on our trips through western Canada and Colorado, and I remember a doozy of a match in a blinding thunder storm in east Texas. The pictures here are a mix...one was up to Colorado in the summer of I think 1969, which I don't remember much at all; and the other in Canada I am guessing 1971-
from Calgary, we went up into the Rocky Mountains, Banff, Lake Louise, and over through British Columbia, Vancouver, down to Puget Sound and Seattle. The memories I have of that trip are as foggy as the weather was, but I see the photos and HOPE my parents had more fun than this family was having!By the time I was in high school, mom took us on those summer trips without dad - he was too busy with work to be gone f
or weeks on end, and I doubt we could have taken each other for that long anyway. One summer she took us to the Grand Canyon, and I still remember that trip. Just a few hours - we drove in, saw the view from a couple of the pull outs, then drove on again to the Painted Desert.None of my frickin' business, I KNOW, but I wish I could have told that family to be kinder to each other; to cherish the memory of going to the Grand Canyon together....there are so many things I have said and done to my family that I wish I could take back...
(all photos except one, were taken by my father with the fancy SLR Canon camera he had just got...I have it now, and need to learn how to use it properly.....Mom took the other photo and it is the only one of him and us in the whole set)
Inadvertently
The swanky new design is not what I wanted. They "ought" to give you a preview option...and then the CHOICE to go back to what you originally had......but they don't...... oh well
02 June 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)