pontificate at 6 am

I made Bub get up early this morning to help me proof my paper for class.   I stayed up last night, well past midnight  and have an all day class again today.   I often read my papers and writings to Bubby so that I can hear what I have said and also so that he will catch my typos and mistakes.

Did not think Bub would want to listen to me last night, so when I was making coffee at 5:45, I heard him get up too.  We had a quick conversation and I knew he was actually awake and in perfect time to get him to help me.

He whined, but eventually complied and got some coffee and joined me. Which is a good thing, cuz I had missed a bunch of words in my paper and had a couple of mis-speaks.

Then Bub started to be the philosophy king, pontificating all the way to the kitchen to get a second cup of coffee.  The subject?

Porcupines.

Seems that I have a huge amount of hits on the blog because there is a link from a google picture of a porcupine to this site.   I didn’t take the picture, I only downloaded it from the web several months ago and used it in a blog.   But now, if you google porcupine, and a picture comes up and you hit on it, you can link to this blog.  Go figure.

Bub wanted to know how I had managed to do that and thought that if I could get another picture, say of a red balloon, then I would get a bazillion hits.  Then google or Disney would pay me a tenth of a penny each time someone linked to their add from my site and then I would be rich and then I could stay home all day and write my book that he wants me to do.   whaaa-hoo!

I laughed at what he said and he replied, ” well that is what you get when you get me up this early, I pontificate and am the philosopher king”

thanks.

no new posts for a bit

Graduate classes for the next few days, marathon sessions from 9-5 today, tomorrow and Saturday. Too much reading to do and not enough to time blog… sniffle sniffle. Be back on Sunday, I promise Lili.

Jigger is wondering too….

Why is mother sitting in her chair and not petting me?

Cats don’t care.

Neither do my kids.  I did this to myself.

Excited and stressed already.  Adminstrative Ethics, how timely.

Halcyon days

Both of my children are taller then me.  Both were 9 lbs, 3 oz at birth and both were long.  I stand 5′ 5″ on a good day and have a pretty small frame.  I got tendinitis under my right ribs with Lulu because of all of her kicking and her long legs.  When when she finally arrived after being rather late to the party, she didn’t unfold for a few days.

I would have her on the changing table on her back and her legs stuck straight up in the air.  If i pushed down on her legs, her torso would come off the table.  Her legs are long,   her drive is fierce, and she competes against herself which makes track a perfect venue for her.

Saturday was meet day and we headed down to North Conway to watch.  Lulu wanted to jump 15 feet.  Her best jump before was 14′ 6″, so a bit ambitious but something to go for.

She also runs hurtles and does better when she is in the faster group. She was very nervous because of the goal she set for herself.

Lulu jumped 14 feet 10 inches and 3/4!  She was pleased with her personal record.

And so were we.

Lulu has set some short term goals for herself this summer.

Hang with friends, scoop ice cream at the local scoop shop and be almost 17.

I doubt I will see her much this summer.  She is at the stage where being with the rents is a drag. I don’t blame her one bit.  I spent my teenage summers in Greensboro, living with my grandmother and working at the Lodge or the club.  Hanging with my friends and enjoying life was the priority.

Those were the halcyon days of my youth when I tasted freedom for the first time.

Lulu is heading there.  Emilie has already tasted it.  And mother….

well I am going to ride a motorcycle.

Teach by example.  Live each day fully.  Love and celebrate one another.

Julie Magnan

In life, a random meeting sometimes turns into something a bit bigger. In this case, I met Julie at the airport heading down to Washington a couple of weeks ago.  She and I were sitting next to each other at the terminal waiting for the plane.

We struck up a casual conversation about nothing really, and as  I was checking my boarding pass, I realized that I didn’t have a seat assignment.  I asked her if she would watch my bag while I stepped over to the counter. She obliged and I managed to get the seat next to her.

The funny thing was that the plane was over booked and three people had been bumped, but they had held one seat for me.  Go figure.

Julie was going to Washington too, and we both needed to catch a connecting flight at JFK, the plane was late leaving Burlington, and there was no time between flights.  We became travel compatriots,  running through the JFK from one terminal to another to just barely make the next flight.

Her trip was to speak to our congressional delegation about large trucks on the highways and weight limits. She was planning to meet up with the Truck Safety Coalition and  she briefly told me her story of being in a truck accident and losing her husband David.   I instantly knew I had my next story for Livin’.

Yesterday we met up in Burlington and did the interview.  I thought the story would be about truck safety and keeping trucks with multiple trailers off the highway and all of the work Julie is doing.  But she is really an extraordinary woman who has a plucky spirit and tenacity.  Such a joy to hear her story of her love and her vision and to meet someone who has managed to come though an ordeal without resentment and bitterness.

This should be an easy write.  Most of her own words will tell the story.

New fun

I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want to die
Just want to ride on my motorcy...cle

Yesterday I met Annie at the local airstrip and took my first lesson.
Such fun.  Her bike was firecracker red.  I like bikes with a different
seat though and the foot pedals placed a little differently.  Annie is a
pilot, motorcycle rider, ER nurse and overall best teacher ever.  

Is this empty nest great or what!