Category Archives: Mr. Boy

Third grade begins

Posted on August 25, 2008 | Comments Off on Third grade begins

"I hate school," said Mr. B., getting up this morning for the first day of third grade. So we practiced smiles, one good way I have found to push oneself into a better mood. It worked, more or less. He finally left a few minutes ago reasonably enthusiastic. Not at all grumpy, anyway. There’s hope in River City! When he gets home this afternoon, I’ll start him memorizing the multiplication tables. My father forced me to learn them all in one, long evening. But Mom thinks we should try them one-at-a-time. He is a good memorizer. We shall start with nine.

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Rain, do come again, but not Fay, please

Posted on August 16, 2008 | Comments Off on Rain, do come again, but not Fay, please

It’s been cloudy all day. The drought-breaking rain we’ve been promised has yet to appear, thougn the temperature is a relatively-cool 89F at this hour. LCRA meteorologist Bob Rose says we’re scheduled for a good chance of light-to-heavy rain through the end of next week, and he adds that there is "much uncertainty" in the ultimate path of Tropical Storm Fay. She’s now predicted to turn north and strike the west coast of Florida, but just might decide to head west, instead. That would be a bummer as we are leaving the rancho on Monday for our annual jaunt to the beach at Port Aransas before Mr. B.’s school resumes on Aug. 25. Even her hitting Florida might raise some big waves that sweep across the Gulf of Mexico and pound the beach where we’re going. It’s happened before.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Weather/Climate

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Thanks from Israel

Posted on August 14, 2008 | Comments Off on Thanks from Israel

The highlight of parents’ night tonight at Camp Shalom, for me, anyhow, was when Yoni and Yonatan, in a projected video clip showing them leaning on the fully-depressed barrel of a Merkava tank in a motor pool somewhere in Israel, thanked all the campers for their letters. All the kids cheered. Mr. Boy said Yoni was the favorite, and he probably got the most letters, because his name was "the shortest and so it was the easiest to write." Yoni did seem to smile the broadest in the clip, as if he was sharing a private joke.

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Same old Rangers

Posted on August 13, 2008 | Comments Off on Same old Rangers

Down 10 runs to none in the first inning, Mr. B.’s Texas Rangers came roaring back last night, looking by the seventh like they were going to finish off Boston 16 to 14. So Mr. B. went off to bed happily. Alas, the Red Sox then came back, winning the game 19-17. This is the problem with being a Rangers fan. Even when they seem to be winning, they lose. Their hitting is tops this year, but their pitching stinks. It’s always half-a-loaf with the Rangers, and by August they turn into bums. Luckily for Mr. B., he also likes the Red Sox–especially Ortiz who hit two three-run dingers in the first.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Texana

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The lollipop pitch

Posted on August 5, 2008 | Comments Off on The lollipop pitch

It’s fun when you start learning things from an eight-year-old. Mr. B. is so infatuated with baseball that he’s constantly rattling off player and team statistics. So many that sometimes I’m tempted to believe he’s making them up. So when he described a Ranger reliever in Monday’s 9-5 Ranger win over the Yankees throwing a lollipop pitch, I couldn’t quite believe it. Never heard of it. He said it was like a curve ball. Sure enough. Also this: Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter’s split-fingered fastball "came in high, looking like a lollipop, then dropped straight down."

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Scribbles, Texana

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Let’s go, Rangers!

Posted on August 2, 2008 | Comments Off on Let’s go, Rangers!

Going to be interesting, our trip to Arlington today to see the Rangers play the Bluejays tonight. Mr. Boy, who has become a daily reader of the sports pages, is a fount library of statistics and youthful opinions about his Rangers. Add to that his recent reading of The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams, and our bedtimestory reading lately of The Thinking Fan’s Guide To Baseball.

Last night, watching the Rangers beat the Jays 9-8, the camera focused on retired Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan. "There’s Nolan Ryan," Mom said. "Oh, Mom," Mr. B. said. "Whitey Ford was better. Ryan didn’t have any control."

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WiFi Nintendo

Posted on July 18, 2008 | Comments Off on WiFi Nintendo

Turns out the new WiFi signal at the rancho works perfectly for Mr. B. and his buddy Wyatt, who is here for a sleepover tonight. They can battle each other in Mario Brothers adventures with their Nintendo DSs in synch.

UH, NO:  They informed me, with a minimum of disdain, that their units have built-in WiFis and proved it when we went up to the local burger joint by playing Pokemon in synch all the way.

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