Category Archives: Mr. Boy

Funeral trip

Posted on August 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Funeral trip

A winding road, a motorcycle and a big patch of gravel spelled the end of my young sister-in-law last night near her home in southern Indiana. So we fly out in the morning for the gathering of the clan and the funeral on Monday. So no more posts until we return on Tuesday. It will be Mr. Boy’s first funeral, and we expect many questions once he drops his rising second-grader, know-it-all pose. He was too young for his maternal grandfather’s funeral in ’03, which was too bad because he missed the military honors. I expect this one to be much more somber. Sudden, unexpected death always drills deep into our sense of mortality. We are already taking more time for hugs and saying "be careful" when we part on even short errands.

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Posted in Mr. Boy

Fanny whacking felony

Posted on July 30, 2007 | Comments Off on Fanny whacking felony

More on the girlification of public school. Well, middle school, although we have seen signs of it in elementary school as well. It is not reassuring to know that it will only get worse in middle school.

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The Deathy Hallows

Posted on July 28, 2007 | Comments Off on The Deathy Hallows

I’m still reading the final Potter book to Mr. Boy, and we’re not far along. But I couldn’t resist reading it when he was asleep, and once when he wasn’t and caught me at it. He didn’t seem to mind too much. So I’ve finished it, and even read several reviews and discussions online, including this 25-page one at Slate. I thought it was a wonderful finish to a fascinating tale that I began reading before Mr. B. was born. As tiresome as some of the teenage angst was to wade through, in the earlier books and the last one, I knew if I kept reading I’d be rewarded in the end, even if only by Dumbledore wrapping it all up for me. This time his spirit’s explanation was more ambiguous than I expected. Had to reread it again to be sure I hadn’t missed anything. I was sorry he didn’t return, Gandalf style, but I’d come to realize that Harry’s universe was not, actually, as magical as Frodo’s. I was more sorry that Snape didn’t die fighting, as I had always felt he was more an active good guy than a bad one, but his final gift to Harry was more than sufficient. I didn’t even mind the (as some complain) goody-two-shoes epilogue. I thought it was appropriate, straddling the worlds of adult and child readers. What I did not think was appropriate were the very few swear words which surprised me when they appeared (I particularly dislike the coarse use of "effing" in a child’s book) but I reminded myself that Rowling’s main readers, who began when they were nine or ten, are now adults in the eyes of the law, and so could be expected to "want" something like that, for whatever reason. As for Mr. B., well, I will simply skip over them (or find appropriate euphemisms) in reading the book to him. Later, when he’s older and reading the books for himself, I suppose they will not be too jarring for him, even if he’s only ten or eleven, but merely seem naughty. The books, afterall, are now available in their entirety and needn’t be put off for a year or so in between. All in all, a satisfying conclusion, and open-ended enough to allow imaginative speculation about the future of all the survivors. I still prefer the Lord of the Rings, with Frodo’s final departure to the Grey Havens rather than to suburban bliss, but, then, I’m 63 years old.

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Posted in Library, Mr. Boy

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Mr. Boy’s sniffer

Posted on July 28, 2007 | Comments Off on Mr. Boy’s sniffer

Mr. B. and I bought a pre-owned vehicle yesterday, a 3-year-old silver Honda CRV with sun/moon roof and fulltime four-wheel drive. He rode along on the test excursion, searching the backseat area for damage (finding none) and using his keen, non-cigarette-damaged sense of smell to ferret out anything untoward. He didn’t smell anything bad, except what he pronounced a little mildew from all the rain we’ve been having. He liked it back there. More room, he thought, than in the old Jeep Cherokee, although that’s unlikely since the CRV is shorter and narrower. Nevertheless. His reward? A can of Big Red soda pop. He thought it was worth it. Also liked the tinted windows, which will let him play his Leapster in the back seat without interference from the sun.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles

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Car shopping

Posted on July 22, 2007 | Comments Off on Car shopping

The insurance company has retired my old Jeep Cherokee Laredo, after I rearended a Chevy last week climbing winding RR (Ranch Road) 2222 in a blinding rainstorm. The latest storm in our crazy year of rain. I wasn’t hurt, or the people in the Chevy. But the insurors declared the Jeep a total loss, although it isn’t obviously so. It being fifteen years old, however, the repair estimate was a higher percentage of the market value than allowed. I think I’ll go for a Toyota or a Honda this time. But giving up the Jeep is hard. We brought Mr. B. home in it, a few days after he was born in 2000. He’s used to it, we’re used to it. It’s like losing a member of the family.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly

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Wrapping skill

Posted on July 19, 2007 | Comments Off on Wrapping skill

Wrapping.JPG

Mr. Boy’s first attempt at solo wrapping. A present (a G.I. Joe set) for a friend from basketball camp, whose birthday party is Saturday. Not bad, actually, for a 7-year-old. Not a ginormous amount of extra cellophane tape. Not too far off, in fact, from what I do at 63. Nevermind, girls. It’s a boy thing.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly

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Handy dads

Posted on July 16, 2007 | Comments Off on Handy dads

I thought this column about dads being less handy around the house these days was just a good way for the writer to fill his weekly allotment of space while looking pleasingly self-deprecating to his readers. Until I read the comments. Amazes me that some men would decline to install a light fixture or a ceiling fan, though I can understand one guy’s remark that interior painting is best left to the pros. I have done it, but the result was not so pleasing. I’ve also paid to have the privacy fence lengthened. But it’s also a good idea for Mr. Boy to see me doing chores like unclogging a sink or toilet, or installing the aforementioned light or ceiling fan. If nothing else, he’s learned a few new cuss words. But he also gets to see that tackling this stuff is not demeaning, but actually a good skill to have. Although when faced with the weekly lawnmowing in the summer’s heat–I just finished half of it, and am putting off the rest for a few hours–it’s awfully tempting to pay to have someone else do it. I’m looking forward to the day when he’s old enough to put him to it, as my father did me long ago.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles

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