Riding Giants

So birthday parties are really really cool. I've noticed they are even better when they are not yours. You only get one birthday a year. That means 364 days (or even more in leap year!) of slogging through life, miserable that the day is not yours. But other than the presents, other people's birthdays are exactly like yours. Friends, cake, hanging, bowling, playing "Don't Break the Ice" until you break all the ice pieces. It's great! This could double, triple or even 20tuple the number birthdays you have a year. I had two B-days this weekend, and both were awesome to the max (no, not like the place Zach, Slater and the gang hung out at on Saved by the Bell).

And if you miss the presents you don't get on other people's birthdays, just take whatever you were going to spend on them, split it in half, and get yourself a present. The reasoning behind this is that you can better celebrate with the birthday boy/girl, as you will freshly have experienced the joy of getting exactly what you wanted. That's what I did, and now I have a bocci set and a sparkling new green shirt to show for it. Thanks for having birthdays, gals!

Bocci, the game of kings. If the kings were old Italian men. This will be me come springtime. In fact, since it has no head, maybe it is me now. You can't prove it's not! Other than the sense of style and the bocci skill. Plus I have a head, and he doesn't.

Another note, I finally got my Fire Warden hat, and it is as good as advertised. It's bright orange, doesn't fit, and is all floppy and chintzy. I love it. But wait, there's more! I also got... a whistle, and a flashlight with no batteries! My plan is to use the flashlight mirror to reflect the light from the fire to see in dark places. I just hope all dark places are close to a fire, but not so close as to char me. That would be embarrassing, with the fire warden on fire...

Helicopter Channel

So back up yonder in MA, there's this channel on cable which I call the Helicopter Channel. Basically, it consists of video taken from planes and helicopters flying up and down the North Shore. There are labels so you know which bays and inlets you are flying over, and it is all set to soothing classical music. And it just goes on, all day, flying over to scerene violins, with quick stops for station identification and local advertisements. I can't watch it for more than 10 minutes, but those are some of the most peaceful ten minutes possible. If there were bombs exploding outside, and my house had a chimney fire going, and cats were attacking me, I think I could just turn on the Helicopter Channel, and the sight of Crane Beach, Gloucester Harbor, and the marshes would put me at ease, that everything will be ok. I would then feel ready to face the day. Probably the best find on TV since the Polka Channel...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. To make amends, here is Amy's Diary. Great stuff.