Spread the word

I saw in the paper today an article that saddened me.  It was about a 15 year old boy that went missing from a beach in California.  I thought maybe if we spread the word together we may find this boy and return him to his family for Christmas.

 

This is John (Jonny) Butler.  He is about 6'1" and weighs in at about 160 pounds.  He has Brown Hair and Brown Eyes and was last seen at Newport Beach in California.  He went, like so many kids his age, to catch some waves but got more than he bargained for.  His board was found at the beach but he was not with it.  He has some scars on his face that are not included in the picture.

Upon further inspection I realized that this didn't happen quite as recently as I thought.  Included was a computer generated image of what he could look like today.

Yes, this is a computer generated prediction of what the now 66 year old Jonny would look like today.  It turns out he went missing back in 1961, so he really could be anywhere.  So please, if you see an old man walking around that looks like he could have been 6'1", 160 lbs 50 years ago please call the police and let them know.

I think that 50 years is long enough.  If we work together we can bring this kid home to his family so he can have a Merry Christmas.

Please spread the word!

Word of the day

So, I made up a new word the other day, at least I think I did.  I have never heard it before, and I do keep myself educated on the latest words that enter the English language.  At any rate, my new word is "Elfsmanship".

It is a Christmas season word to describe the craftsmanship of those little builders Santa uses to make Christmas possible.  So when you wake up Christmas morning and if you were good enough to get a present or two, take a minute or two to admire the elfsmanship.  I hope learn that you exclaim something like this.  "Oh, look at how the light dances off of the surface of this beautiful unicycle, such fine elfsmanship!"

I can't believe that it is only 13 days until Christmas.  This month has just flown by.  Luckily I got much of my shopping done online over the Thanksgiving holiday.  My Thanksgiving?  Oh it was magical.  We spent a lot of time with family.  We drove around a lot looking for signs and appraising computer components and making new friends.  We went for a long drive in the country and saw some of the sights.  We got to see couple of crazy love birds getting married a couple of days after.  It was a good time.

Unfortunately with such an amazing Thanksgiving I find myself in the slumps a bit for Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but this year I'm having trouble getting pumped up about it.  Could this be a sign that I am on the naughty list?  Oh damn, what an absolutely terrifying thought!  I guess to be honest I have never been a big fan of Christmas.  For some reason no matter how much I tried to be good, I was never able to be as good as the other kids at my school.  This is an observation based on sheer quantity of gifts and whether I received what I had asked for.

I remember one year when I was about 8 or 9 and thought I had been really good.  So I asked Santa for a car.  Not just any car, but a Corvette Stingray.  I had seen miracle on 34th street and in that case Santa had given a whole house.  Certainly a Stingray wasn't out of the question.  In an effort to increase my chances I also added the car to my personal prayers for Christmas.  I was so sure that come Christmas morning a new Corvette would be parked out in front of my house with the keys in it.  I don't remember what I got for Christmas that year, but I do remember what I didn't get.  I was heart broken.  Not only was my trust in Santa shaken, but also my faith.

Looking back I can see how silly my request must have seemed.  What would a 9-year-old boy do with a beautiful automobile like that anyway?  I couldn't even afford the taxes on it not to mention the looks I would get when I drove it around town.

Santa and I were eventually able to work out our differences.  He admitted that he didn't really take my request very seriously and I accepted his apology.  Over time what once was a gaping wound in my tender heart has slowly healed.  The once painful gash is now but a feint echo of its former self.  Now we are even able to look back on that year and laugh.

What is the lesson here?  I guess one lesson is never hold a grudge against Santa, because you will only hurt yourself.

Who would win in a fight....

As Wendi pointed out, she bought a Loki doll.  I thought it would be a good idea to get a Thor action figure to keep the Loki doll in line.

So we both went to bed last night and she woke up this morning and found Loki with Thor's hammer on his chest, yes just like in the movie.  Logic would seem to dictate that Loki was already starting to act up and Thor put him in his place.  Sounds like I was right about the whole getting Thor action figure after all.

When I awoke I found this sight waiting for me in the kitchen...

It is so obvious that this is a setup.  Does she really expect me to believe that Loki the doll was able to get out from under Thor the action figure's hammer.  The hammer that nobody can move but Thor himself?  There are so many things wrong here that I simply find in unbelievable. 

First off, Loki the doll is holding Thor the action figure's hammer up as if to triumphantly wield it.  It is pretty well documented in graphic novel and silver screen adaptations that he cannot move the hammer, let alone lift it above his head.

Secondly, his staff.  He's not even holding it.  Unless he is planning on committing suicide he is amateur when it comes wielding weapons where Thor is what we refer to in the business as a master.  I guess that's the difference between how a doll holds a weapon and an action figure.

Thirdly, what are those things growing out of his head?  I'm not a medial doctor or anything, but I don't think it should be doing that.  He should probably get that looked at.  He must have very strong neck muscles to hold his head up with those things attached.  It looks like some that Hellboy would have if he stopped trimming his horns back.

The one accurate piece of this I can see is that the Thor the action figure does look to be in a bit of pain.  I imagine that god or not it would probably hurt to have somebody standing on your crotch like that, doll or no.  I think Loki the doll should be more grateful to Thor the action figure for not taking him out on one of the many occasions he has had to do so.

For the record, I think the Hulk had the right idea of what to do with Loki :-)

Gitt'n down

 We had a ton of fun celebrating Eric's birthday last week.  Lisa successfully threw him a surprise party at Boondocks.  He played laser tag and drove the go carts around.  Eric drove the entire track with his left blinker on.  Ye kept yelling at Mel to "slow down or somebody is going to get hurt".

We also played a bunch of video games and ended up on one of the head-to-head driving ones.  Suddenly he is in a hurry ramming Mel and me off the road.  I guess he still knows the difference between real-life and video games, which is good.

When we were all sitting down to cake the hostess (person not the makers of the delicious cupcakes and twinkies) came and gave Eric 200 tickets to redeem for all sorts of amazing prizes, but she made him work for it...I captured the moment for blackmail purposes (check out the people watching him in the background :-).

 

I know there were times there where we weren't sure we would make it past 20, but you did it, and I couldn't be powder.

Thanks Lisa and Eric, we had a blast.

 

Avenge my birthday.

I am supposed to be drawing Loki right now for Wendi.  No, I can't really draw, but thanks for asking.  It's my own fault I suppose.  We had a birthday party yesterday for one of our long-time friends (a guy my age).  Wendi ran to the store to get gift, card etc. when it came to me.  "Don't get him a card" I said, "I'll draw him one".  I thought it would be fun to give him like a kid-like drawn card.  Those are always better than store bought ones anyway, right?

Well one thing led to another and I was late coming home and I still hadn't made the card.  So I grabbed a box of markers, some paper and a book to draw on as we ran out the door.  For the 20 minute drive to their house I madly scribbled.  A table, a cake, some plates....Iron Man, yes this is turning out nice.  The bumpy road was really working to my advantage here.  Captain America was next...of course, followed by Thor (whose head was smaller than the rest Wendi pointed out).  I needed a couple more people gathered around the table so I asked Wendi for some help.

"Draw Loki" she said.
"I can't draw Loki!" I said.
"Sure you can." she said.
"Not and him be recognizable as Loki" I said.
"Fine, then the Black Widow" she said.
"What does she look like" I asked.
"Black suit with red hair" she said.
"Easy enough" I said and I went to work.

Keep in mind that I am scribbling frantically so these people only vaguely resemble the Avengers, but mostly I did it to keep from getting sued.  Then behind all of the other birthday well wishers I drew a big green mass, obviously the Hulk.

As we pull up I pen the birthday greeting "We will AVENGE your birthday" and signed it from us.

It was good for a laugh, which it did deliver.  Who knows, maybe it will make the fridge for a week.

So Wendi says on the way home "If you can draw that good in 20 minutes on a bumpy road, imagine what you could draw if you took your time!"  I tried to explain that it's easy to draw something when expectations are low but not when they are high.  It's like going to a movie that somebody has told you "It's the best movie EVER!!!!"  Don't get me wrong, I liked Halloween Town 2, but there was just too much hype and it didn't even make top 10 for me.

So, I have been tasked to drawing Loki, Wendi's favorite character in the Avengers.  I'm not sure if she realizes that she is cheering for the wrong side, but I don't have the heart to tell her.  I guess I better get to it.

Trying to Recover

Well, it is September, which kicks off the "burrr" months and, if you know my wife, begins the preparations for that day that comes but once a year.  I am of course referring to HALLOWEEN!

At our house we spend more time preparing for and decorating for the big day.  Wendi usually has one or two projects in mind to add to the decorations.  Last year it was the Apothecary which turned out amazing.

It is mostly Wendi as I am not really very crafty unless it involves a computer or a wood shop.  I need to have a plan, precise measurements, consistency and either a mouse or a power tool in my hand.

Today Wendi wanted to work on making scary books for Halloween.  We had got shopping at some 2nd hand stores and found some that had old looking pages a couple weeks ago for just this purpose.  This involves modge-podge, painting, decorating and a general lack of power tools.  She invited me to do one but, as I am pretty sure we established earlier, it just not my cup of tea.  To be honest nothing is really my cup of tea.  I simply don't care for tea.  I have had my share of tea in my day, but have never enjoyed a drop.  If somebody was to cast everybody I know into characters from Alice in Wonderland, I could not be the Mad Hatter.

I decided that I could at least lend her a helping hand and picked up and started sizing up a human skull.  I thought having a skull protruding from the front of a book could be cool so I decided to cut his face off (maybe the Knave of Hearts).  I tried the kitchen sheers but the bone-like plastic was too much.  Next a steak knife entered the skulls mind, but I soon realized that I would soon be putting a lot of blood and tears into this project if I kept it up.  Then it came to me...the rotary tool.  Yes, that made short work of the skulls face and my blood remained right where I like it.

I sanded it flat and got it ready for Wendi, but she was already hard at work with her own dumb idea.  "Why don't you use it for one for yourself?" she taunted me.  Well, I must admit that my pride got the better of me.  Watching her do it made me realize how simple it was.  "A child could do this!" I blurted out accidentally, and then it was on...yes, like Donkey Kong.

After taking meticulous measurements and making sure I had it centered, I hot glued the elf's face to the front of my book.  Soon I was modge-podginizing with book cover with tissue paper and painting it.  Then I started learning new words like "Second Coat" and "Dry Brush" and I had to take a break to refill my manly meter before things got too crazy.  As soon as Richard Simmons left I painted and painted, and dry brushed, viola...my masterpiece was complete.





Wendi had of course not only finished hers but had gone back to watching "the doctor".  I looked at her completed book and I realized that my initial decision was the correct one.  I should have stayed out of Mr. McGreggors garden, but it was too late.  Hers turned out amazing while mine looks like something that a child could have made out of macaroni and lima beans.

I suppose there are some lessons that can be taken away from all of this.
#1 - Know your limitations.
#2 - Follow your instincts.
#3 - Be a graceful loser.
#4 - Only go to bed once each night.
#5 - Things never turn out as cool in real life as they do in your head.
#6 - Modge-Podge tastes just like Elmer's Glue.
#7 - Just because something says "Eat Me" doesn't mean you should.
#8 - Dylan cheats at cards.
#9 - Each can of alphabet soup does not legally have to contain all of the letters of the alphabet.
#10 - Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.

Long Distance Surprise

Wendi had another birthday.  It's getting to be like clockwork now.  Theoretically a civilization could build a big calendar based on it if they wanted to.  I think it would be funny to make it stop abruptly for no reason, that should throw some people for a loop someday.

Anyway, she always goes all out for my birthday, and this year was no different.  She bakes and decorates cakes a lot but she knows that I am not a huge fan of cake (yes, I know).  This year she made a cake that she knew I would appreciate...a fruit cake.  No, not the kind that your in-laws re-gift you at Christmas, but a real pile of freshly cut fruit in the shape of a cake.  I loved it!

She always makes my birthdays special, where I feel I always struggle to make hers special or even memorable.  Fortunately, I have some of the best family on the planet.  Somehow I was able to convince my cousin, Wayne, and his wife, Linda, to bring their beautiful little girl on a 12 hour drive and spend the weekend in Utah to celebrate Wendi's birthday.  It was a tight fit but he managed to bring my other cousin, Kathy, and her little boy too.  Somehow we kept it a secret although Wendi insists afterward that I was "acting weird all week".  Newsflash, I pretty much always act weird, so I was really acting normal.

Finally, the day arrived.  Like a child waiting for Santa I tracked them as they made the long trip up and first thing in the morning they knocked on our door.  Yep, it was all worth it, at least for me.  It was a sweet reunion.  Smiling and tired faces were more than a welcome sight as hugs and high-fives were liberally distributed.

The weekend went by too quickly but was filled with fun.  We were able to fit in a shopping trip, Tucanos and of course a night of staying up until our slap-happy antics had us literally rolling on the floor...literally.  The party was a blast with a house full of friends and family all there to support Wendi as she crossed the yearly finish line.  It was amazing to have everybody there to share in the festivities.

But all too soon it was time to pack up the car, with 10 bags of fresh produce, and send our family back to their lives and for us to do the same.  We missed them almost immediately, but I think it was just enough to recharge our batteries...at least until November.

A special thanks goes out to Wayne, Linda and Kathy for making the long trip.  I truly appreciate the effort and sacrifice you made to come up for just a few days.  I hope that you know how much we love and appreciate you.  Thanks for being so awesome!

Thanks also to Riley and JD for weekend full of smiles and melt-downs.  I am sorry your rooms were so close together.

Thanks also to Eric & Lisa & Family for making the trip for the party.  To Jen & Todd and Family for coming over and hanging out.  And to Tom & Sabrina and all the gang for coming and bringing the party with you.  And Evan, it is always good to see you.

Thank you all for helping make Wendi's Birthday a celebration and most importantly and P-A-R-T-Y!