Flying W Things

The Old Guys Got It Right

Last Friday at lunch, Mike, Mike, Pat, and Yoshi indulged me in my latest cockamamie idea.

We all went to the park for lunch - brown bag or takeout. After we ate, we played bocce. I smoked a cigar. It was a little warm but quite nice in the shade, which was plentiful.

When I described it to one of the guys in the office who hadn't been able to join us I realized that it sounded like an Old Man Lunch.

The Old Men are on to something here. It was great! Hopefully I can talk the guys into doing it again.

New All-Time Leading Scorer

The kids had their first soccer matches this weekend.

Everybody played hard and had fun. Cameron scored late in his match and Claire made some great saves in goal during hers.

With this score, Cameron shoots to the top of the family All-Time Leading Scoring Chart. (By family here I mean nuclear family. I played soccer for many years but never scored any goals, as I was primarly a defensive player.)

A Special Dread

This week I have been on jury duty. It was phone-in, so every night when I got home from work I would call in to see if I needed to report the next morning.

I dreaded making these calls, waiting for the magic word, "not." As in, "You do not have to report tomorrow." It's like Russian Roulette on the telephone.

I somehow managed to dodge the bullet all week. I suppose that means I've fulfilled my civic obligation - at least for now.

I Am Doomed

Today when Katy was walking the kids to school something interesting happened.

She was saying goodbye to Claire outside the fenced-in playground when two boys started shouting her name from inside. They raced to the fence, still clamoring for her attention.

According to Katy, she walked over to the fence, said "Hi," and then stepped back and did that "dip-your-chin-to-the-shoulder-smile-bat-your-eyes" routine you ladies do so well.

Already, the boys are chasing after her. And she's flirting back!

I am so screwed.

Booze-O-Matic

Many years ago, in the late 80's, I was given a strange and wonderful birthday gift by my friend Kelly. It was a combination decanter/pump/shot glass tray that we christened the Booze-O-Matic. (Strangely enough, she found it at a church garage sale.)

The original Booze-O-Matic died years ago, when the pump stopped working. Recently I went onto Ebay to see if I could find a replacement.

It didn't take long to find one. (Hint: do an Ebay search for "liquor pump.") It arrived today, 15 years after the original was first put to use at a Labor Day poker game.

B-o-M II is a little different than the original. First, the metal parts are stainless steel instead of brass. This is good because it means less polishing. Second, it came with three little tags to hang on the pump:

These crack me up. Bourbon and scotch, sure - but when's the last time you had rye?

After a thorough washing and a quick dry run with water, I dispensed the first shot of bourbon from the new Booze-O-Matic.

I need to find some shot glasses that are short enough to sit on the tray under the pump but otherwise we are good to go.

Labor Day

On Labor Day we joined what seemed like all of Los Angeles county:

Yup, we went to the beach. It was pretty busy.

One of the things that Cameron has been wanting to do is try out one of the four-seater bicycle/surrey thingies that you can rent. It seemed like a fun idea and we decided to give it a try.

It was not quite what I would call "fun." I think "really hard work" would be a better description. Here's one reason why:

The kids couldn't reach the pedals. Katy (aka "Right Side Engine/Copilot") and I ("Left Side Engine/Pilot") had to do all the work. Thanks to the deadly combination of small drive wheels, vast vehicular weight, gentle hills, and free-riding back seaters, there was much huffing and puffing going on. If you add in the 15 minute break at a playground area, I think we may have used 45 minutes of our one hour rental. At that point I would have willingly paid them double to turn it in early.

Breakfast?

Everybody has traditions. One of mine is going out to breakfast the morning before a long weekend. Tomorrow morning when I get off the bus from the train station, I'll head down to Bob's Big Boy.

If you'd care to join me, I'll be at the counter of the Bob's in Burbank tomorrow at around 8:15, drinking coffee and eating some pancakes.