Gosh, How Long was That Nap? It was Fantastic!

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By the looks of it, I may have overslept. I sat down on some grass under a nice shade tree and thought, a little nap sounds nice…

The nap was long enough to drift in and out of REM sleep. So many dreams were had:

Baby Amazing isn’t a baby anymore.

The Pep is still very peppy.

There was this nightmare called undergraduate studies, but it ended with sweet and sad commencements and advocations.

There was this other dream, not sure if it was a good one or a nightmare… of course, it hasn’t ended yet. I can see just bits and pieces at the present… Physics graduate school…summer weather…blood,sweat,tears…ice cream…positron beams…energetic children…

 

Birdy Trust

Back in March I blogged about Lucky Bird needing Gear. The gear consisted of a “hood”. As I soon realized, the costs of hoods were out of my college-life budget and some “Old Git” suggested using a sock in lieu of a hood.

This summer, I finally had a chance to use one of the Boo’s old socks. I cut out a hole from the sock to allow for a beak and nose to breathe. After a small struggle (putting a sock over the head of a large bird is quite an event), the sock was in place and I watched as poor ‘ol Lucky Bird, now without a sense of direction, stumbled around and began swinging his head around. He completed despised not having his sight to guide him.

The “sock hood test” did not go well. In fact, it caused a loss of trust for Lucky Bird with me. Not wanting to get out of his cage, warning he would bite if I tried.

It was only yesterday that Lucky Bird finally allowed me to take him out of his cage after some time (even let me pet his wings which he doesn’t like). He was very eager to spread his wings and take to flight (a few times!). His flying skills have gotten much better and I must conclude that Lucky Bird enjoys having his sight to guide him, especially when “Mom” is concerned.

I have always been a firm believer that birds should be allowed to grow their wings out and have the ability to fly if they so desire. This has caused me to lose a few expensive pet birds to “flying away” over the years. Of course, the birds that know what’s good for them tend to be loyal and don’t fly away, even when taken outside and are given the opportunity.

It appears that Lucky Bird may be ready to have some flying lessons outdoors. Flying is his right after all.

Sidewalks

The University that I attend has a huge campus, approximately 1,200 acres.  It is well known for its endeavors in agriculture.  This allows many to enjoy all the plant life and trees while on their journeys across campus.  As one could imagine, there are numerous sidewalks leading here and there.  In fact, I believe that all of the concrete making up these many sidewalks were poured/leveled etc. by the same contractor.  The reason for this conclusion is due to the design of the sidewalks.  They ALL have this slick boarder outlining their perimeter.  Which leads me to the point of this post.. their slick boarders.

If any amount of water is located on the slick boarders and one happens to place their foot on a boarder while walking.. they are surely going to slip and slide.  Hopefully they will be able to stumble and keep on walking rather than fall.  Simply a “close call”.

I’m sure you might be wondering dear reader, how I know exactly how slick these boarders can be.  Well, if you guessed that I know via first hand, you’ve guessed correctly!  I’ve had my moments of slipping and sliding and am very grateful that broken bones weren’t the outcome on any such occasion.

I can’t remember exactly how these sidewalks came up in a conversation I was having with a friend a couple of months back, but I do recall us sharing a good laugh.  Not to mention, both of us admitting that we would deliberately avoid placing our feet on the boarders while walking regardless of if they were wet or not.  Especially since the moment you forget… you might get caught slipping.  After all, I did mention all the agriculture around campus and where there is agriculture, there is surely going to be water.

Skateboards, scooters, and sandals are common around campus.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep an eye out for some poor ol’ fool not aware of slick boarders.  I often find myself smiling when my eyes catch a poor soul swinging their arms as to keep their balance and sometimes just merely thinking about it. Besides, you never know, that poor ol’ fool might just be me and that may just make for an even better laugh.

It brings back memories of the saying “Don’t step on a crack or you’ll fall and break your back!”, more commonly heard as a child.

P.S. I’m surprised that the ALL the concrete slabs were laid in this fashion.  Surely, slick boarders are not the safest design.  I wonder how many lawsuits, if any exist?

 

Appetite for Religion

The Pep and I recently had a conversation about religion and other people’s beliefs.  The gist of the conversation was how to deal with others trying to impose their beliefs on you.  I explained to the Pep that I wasn’t particularly fond of subjecting him to anyone that was focused on shoving their religious beliefs down his throat.  His response, “Good, because I’m not that hungry”.

The Onset of Alzheimer’s

I was recently informed that a dear friend, rather the best father figure in my life has the beginning signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. It makes sense.. during our last conversation he mentioned something that we have already spoken about as if we never had. Of course it could have been due to forgetfulness, he is about to turn 80 years old. This saddens me a bit considering how much I have enjoyed our conversations over the years. Actually, over the course of my life come to think of it.

A man who I can recall being blind when I was a child. I always wonder how he managed to be so efficient, especially at work. A man who has managed to keep up on all the things we blab on about. Not just your typical “hey how are you doing” talk but the in depth philosophical, physics and mathematics talk. An open ear… so full of wisdom and stories. So many stimulating conversations!

I’ve come to realize that most of the conversations were meant for me. Not that they weren’t for him or he didn’t get anything out of them, but that the words that were spoken were to develop and expand my character. I think of all the time he has invested.

A man behind fogged up glasses on the other end of the telephone so willing to converse despite the difference in time zones.

When you don’t know what to expect

When this thought comes to mind, it usually leads me to think of pregnancy.   Nine long months until you are finally faced with child labor.  It’s to wonder why many put themselves through it more than once.  Time does have a way of allowing us to forget.

Of course, not knowing what to expect is relative to many things.  Some may even attempt situations again, expecting different results.  Whatever the case, not knowing leads us to experience new things.  We can thus making conclusions by deciding whether or not to do “that” again.  Which leads me to retell the tale of yesterday’s trip to a local water park for a day of fun, requested by the birthday boy himself.  The Pep now celebrating 3,650 days, or rather a decade of life.  The water park was a happening place with a wave pool, a lazy river, two areas for toddlers, an intermediate area, a surfing riptide and at least 7 very tall water slides.  Eventually, a couple of us trucked up the billion plus stairs to meet our doom catch some thrills.

We went on the intermediate slides requiring inner tubes which was fun.  There were two body only slides on the intermediate level both open with decent drops.  I thought it might be better to experience the enclosed body only slide before the other two. (of course, not knowing what to expect from any body only slides.)  So we trucked up another billion plus stairs to  meet our doom catch some more thrills.

I waited in a small line that consisted of a little girl and her female older relative (perhaps her mother or grandma).  They seemed to go down alright and I watched as they flew to the end.  The older woman seemed a little out of it as she stumbled past the lifeguard watching over all at the bottom of the slides.  I was next and thought, I should be ok. No sweat, right?

The time had come. I laid down, crossed my legs and fold my hands behind my neck so an elbow was extended out on each side of my head as the lifeguard instructed.  I gave myself a little nudge and I instantly started sliding downward with the water.  Everything was going just fine as I was glided down the slide as I began to pick up speed.  I rounded the first turn, which didn’t even slow me down.  By the second turn, I was flying down the slide at a minimum of 15 mph.  At this point, the water was splashing in my face  which made it even harder to see in the enclosed slide.  I thought perhaps I would start to slow down soon, except, I keep accelerating! At the next turn, I was slammed up against the side and my legs uncrossed.  It took quite a bit of force and energy to get my legs crossed again,. Luckily I did, all the while catching more speed.  There was a brief moment where I thought I was on Willy Wonka’s water slide.  The kind fit to coincide with all of the interesting contraptions in his chocolate factory and like the one he would have if he did have one. Again, I picked up speed!  I began to feel a little scared.  Was I ever going to slow down? Wait, was I ever going to make it to the end.

Finally, after a lifetime of accelerating down the enclosed slide, the top opened up which was the signal that the “fun” was almost over.  So glad to have made it down in one piece, I laid there for a moment to catch my breath.  “@!$*%^* @$#%”, was all I was able to utter.  Words cannot express how intense the ride down that red slide is.  Little did I know what to expect.

You might be thinking that I should have known better.  But there were tons of people, little kids going down like it was nothing.  I’m usually all about facing fears so that in the end I can say, “That wasn’t so bad”.   Perhaps I should have gone with one of the intermediate body only slides.  Not sure if I’m ready to try the red slide again. Although, I did purchase season passes to the park.  Now I know what to expect.  All I can do now is act accordingly.

Lazy river, here I come….