Dec. 26: random thoughts from the trampoline park


 1. I usually wind up doing something with my son on Boxing Day. That’s because by the time that day rolls around, we’ve usually been cooped up in the house for at least two or three days. Last year, we went for pizza and watched a world, junior championship hockey game. Today we’re at the trampoline park in Ottawa.

2. There is a world junior hockey game being played tonight. I think Canada is playing someone in a couple hours, but I doubt I’ll have the opportunity to watch it.

3. Today I found out what a gainer is. It’s a running backflip. They are forbidden at this trampoline park.

4. The trampoline park is not as crowded as it usually is, which doesn’t surprise me given what day it is. There are some birthday parties and I happen to glance at a couple of the birthday party tables. One of the birthday boys is named Alexander and he’s turning 10. There is a present on the table and there’s an envelope on it that says merry Christmas and happy birthday. Poor Alexander is suffering the fate of all Capricorns - they get their birthday presents and their Christmas presents combined.

5. So far, I have caught my son sharing a trampoline with at least three girls with long dark hair. I think that might be his type.

6. I’m going to have a turkey sandwich tomorrow.

7. Last night we watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special and then we watched a newer special where Lucy was trying to plan a New Year’s Eve celebration. It kind of collapsed in her face and everybody showed up at the end to tell her that they appreciate her anyways. I don’t think Charles Schultz would’ve approved that special. 

8. Ash wants me to bake her a turkey for her birthday. I might just do that. I enjoyed baking a turkey.

9. My son is happiest when he’s vacuuming






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dec. 6: Embroidery

Image
 Chuck Klosterman is one of my comfort writers. I have read a few of his books but two of them have stuck with me. I WEAR THE BLACK HAT is a meditation on villains and the nature of villainy. KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE is about a cross-America trip in a rented car where Klosterman visits the various sites where rock stars died. It should come as no surprise that the book ends with him dropping in at the place where the music died. February 3, 1959. A plane crash that claimed the life of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, and a pilot who no one remembers. The pilot's name was Roger Peterson. I mention him here because his life was also valuable even though he wasn't a rock star. Roger Peterson, died at the age of 22  I listened to the audiobook of KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE today while driving up to Petawawa to do a magic show. It is about the sixth time I have listened to that book. My brain is stupid. Instead of seeking out new information and new stories, it keeps insi...
Read more

Dec. 23: Addiction

Image
Both of my best friends dealt with addiction. They are dead now. One died despite his addiction; the other may have died because of it. "You should get down on your knees every day and thank God that you don't have an addictive personality," one of them said to me. I don't thank God every day - mea culpa - but I understood the sentiment. He was saying that for some people, it's easier to fall into addiction than most. I myself have experimented with nicotine. I have been drunk a handful of times; I am ashamed of this. But have I ever been addicted? Not a chance. - From the National Institute on Drug Abuse: Many people don't understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs c...
Read more

Dec. 8: The Christmas pickle

Image
 Here is the legend of the Christmas pickle. I am not making this up. This is an actual legend that involves Santa Claus himself, St. Nicholas. According to legend, a long time ago, an evil butcher killed three little boys, cut up their corpses, and put them in a barrel full of brine, hoping to sell them as pickled pork. St. Nicholas - perhaps fresh from throwing money in a poor girl's stockings or punching Arius in the face - happened on this butcher shop and, with a holy touch and a prayer, restored the three children to life.  I should think that those three boys suffered from PTSD the rest of their (new) lives. And even today, it is customary in some homes to hide a Christmas pickle on the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Whoever finds that pickle gets an extra present or gets to decide on the order of the present opening. As for me, I want to see a movie about the life of St. Nicholas that incorporates all the legends: punching Arius, resurrecting hacked up children, and ...
Read more