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Zachary the Hamster (2006 – 2009)
I feel bad not giving Zachary a more dignified send off, but it was obvious he had gone gently into that good night, leaving his mortal coil at room temperature in an enclosed area for a couple of days.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Thoughts on this Veterans Day
At 11:00 that morning, the Great War (as it was known before there were two World Wars to choose from) ended as far as the soldiers were concerned. While formal armistice wouldn’t happen for another six months, the guns fell silent behind the trenches where four years of “modern” warfare had done their best to eradicate as many young men as possible in the most efficient manner available, whether it be rapid fire bullets, handheld bombs, tanks, airplanes, or poison gas.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Out of the Mouths of Parrots
Amazon parrots are not as good at mimicking as African Grey parrots. She’s also quite old, pushing fifty or sixty. Akane is the African Grey parrot downstairs. She’s copied not only Meka and Daniel’s words, but she can speak in their voices. It’s eerie. Pepper – on the other hand – mumbles.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )High School Memories – Immersion Day
We gained more confidence when we discovered we could read a number of the signs on the street: BANK, PHARMACY, GROCERY STORE. We found a discoteca (RECORD STORE) and spent a pleasant half hour looking at all the different selections. I found a record by Julio Iglecias. I’d heard of him!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Finding Our Place
Daniel and I stopped at Tom and Jerry’s in Rockford after church. We haven’t been there in awhile. We have a Tom and Jerry’s in Belvidere now, so I don’t have to drive fifteen miles to Rockford for my Vienna Beef hot dog fix. Also, I’m on Weight Watchers, so I shouldn’t really be getting a Vienna Beef hot dog fix in any case. We parked among the puddles and made a run for the entrance. Daniel stopped at the door though, leaving me standing outside in the rain.
“They’ve taken away all the old stuff!” he cried.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Insurance Labyrinth Adventure
Pressing zero didn’t work. Punching zero really hard didn’t work either. When I refused to answer the prompts any longer, it just hung up on me.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Taking the Scenic Route Around a Circle
pi is the ratio of the diameter of a circle to its circumference. If you have a circle that is one inch across, you will measure a little more than 3 inches around the outside edge. Depending on how accurate you are, you may get 3.1 inches or even 3.14. It actually breaks down farther than that. Pi is a special kind of number; it goes on forever (as far as anyone can tell).
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Lost Dog
As the week progressed, the signs changed from typed to handwritten. Photocopied pictures of Shave and his owner covered the pages. The cash reward had been upped to “large cash reward”, possibly to overcome the fact that Shave is described as “generally unfriendly”.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Memos to Daniel
He started out copying things he found in books or on television. He would get papers back in school with comments and he felt it was his duty to pass these along. I always enjoyed getting the bill for Dish Network with a neatly written “Good Job!” inside a homemade explosion. It took the sting out of paying it.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 2 so far )Back in the Day
I was down in the basement going through my record albums. Daniel came down to take a look, “What kind of movies are on those big DVD’s?” That was just so wrong on so many levels; I felt that it was my parental duty to set him straight.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Attack of the Spam People!
Then I heard about MySpace. I checked it out and it looked like it would be a good thing to join up with. I got myself an account, posted some pictures and even a couple of video clips, wrote some blog entries and joined some groups and was happy to see that I was getting some friend requests.
Until I actually started looking at the requests I was getting.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Who the Heck is Chris Dreja?
Now, you’d think that Chris – being the solid sort of fellow he was – would get moved up in the lineup; maybe become lead guitarist? Nope. Instead The Yardbirds hired a guy named Jeff Beck; again, arguably one of the greatest rock guitarists ever.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Sunday School
The first stumper of a question from Daniel wasn’t a “why” question, but more of a “where”: Where did Great Grandma go?
The literal answer – of course – was “in the ground… not too far from the tollway”.
Review: Sapphire Road by Wynne Whiteford
The entire plot of the book gravitates around Man’s addiction to sapphire. Sapphire? You know, that blue stuff in rings. You know how the fate of nations (and in this case) entire worlds hang in the balance if they can’t get enough of it. No? Actually, neither had I.
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