Elementary my dear

I'm talking with Tina this morning, and this proves how she thinks differently than I do. I was telling her how Wednesday morning while I was running errands all over town, every time I got out of my car I could smell some sort of chicken soup. So naturally I thought I had run over a chicken and it got stuck under the car and heated up. Tina pointed out, "We had Chinese food on Tuesday, you went and picked it up." So you see, she completes me.

Thus ends another summer

One more weekday before Amanda goes back to school. It was the best summer yet. Amanda has matured in many ways which has taken a lot of the stress out of the day to day. There were a few bad days where her routine was broken and unfortunately that was because I was out of town. She is not only used to both Tina and I, she is dependent on us both as we are on one another. I can't imagine the difficulty of being Amanda's only parent. It is the only real fear that I have.

Of course it is two fold fear, losing Amanda's mother would also mean I would have lost my wife, and that would in itself be my definition of hell on earth. Tina and I are a team. We have overlapping and complimentary skills that really allow us to accomplish our goals. But more importantly, we truly want the other to enjoy success. And that is what has made this summer possible.

We didn't do anything grand. I repaired the shed and kept the pool clear and clean. Tina kept the house running like a well oiled machine. She says her house keeping was a little slack during the summer and has suspended the 5 second rule. If something hits the floor, DON'T eat it. While I may be domesticated, I'm still a dog, I won't give up a single Lays potato chip.

It's been a good summer, but we are looking forward to the fall, which we define as the beginning of school.

Funky love

Well Funky Winkerbean made quick work of the Wally story for now. Becky told Wally that she buried him and her life was with John. As Wally walked off carrying his trombone case, Becky reflected on how Wally was her first everything, but she had to live with her present. That is how it should be. Love can be painful, and the first can really be the worst. But as I've said myself, I'm not concerned with my first love but my last.

Wabbit Season

So I'm swimming in the pool Saturday afternoon with Tina and Amanda and my older sister. We're relaxing and enjoying the cool water when Sis says, "There is a rabbit in Mom's computer room."

Now, this statement might strike you as odd, but like almost every weird thing I hear from my sister regarding either my mother's house or animals my typical response is, "But of course."

Sis said that her own daughter, a beautiful young woman of 18 who is a rodeo queen and redneck tough, wrestled the small rabbit away from her bulldog. She is tough that way. And has plans on giving it to her boyfriend's grandmother who rescues wild animals. Now this rodeo queen is up in the Arkansas mountains at a rodeo so my mother has the door closed to the room that the rabbit is occupying. Sis said that Mom offered her a small butterfly net on a long pool to catch the rabbit. Sis said it was the wrong tool for the job and they would have to wait a day until the queen returned.

Now, in my day I have caught both dogs and cats, both of which are equally capable of catching a rabbit. Plus, just this past May I read WATERSHIP DOWN. So, I know I can handle this.

After swimming I go to my ancestral home with a pair of leather gloves and am prepared to catch the loose rabbit. I move the furniture which Mom says the rabbit was under, it isn't there. Then I look under another chair and see this terrified little creature, grab the butterfly net and make a capture on the second attempt. Mission accomplished. I deposit the rabbit back in the bucket which it escaped, per my mother's instructions , and grabbed my reward from the wine closet.

I heard today the rabbit finally stroked out before getting delivered to the rescue. I kind of figured that would happen. But at least it was in the bucket and not hiding under a chair when it happened.

A change of title

I changed the name of my blog today. I have a bench in my front yard under a beautiful oak tree. Amanda and I sit on this bench almost daily and visit. It is where she and I have grown together and personally I believe if I were not her father I would not be me.

We painted the bench today, and my sister pointed out to me that I really do love that bench. It is a place where I think about everything that is important to me while Amanda sits and talks about everything that is important to her. So, I have decided to move things along. Thank you for your understanding.

A day at Hogwarts

I saw the new Harry Potter movie yesterday with my brother and nephew. Amanda doesn't watch movies, which I find to be the only real hang up with her condition.

This movie was well done, it was just too long since I saw The Order of The Phoenix or read the book, The Half Blood Prince. I do like the way the relationship with Jenny and Harry is progressing. She is a very brave girl and more suited for Harry than Hermione. She compliments Harry's style while Hermione balances Ron. The last thing Ron needs is someone like himself.

Anyway, not to add to a thousand other critiques of this film and movie, I just have to say I liked it and was very entertained.

One thing I will do is buy the entire series on Blu-Ray when it is available.

Funky just got sad

I have been a reader of Funky Winkerbean for 25 years. Tom Batiuk has created such a diverse cast of characters with so many story lines that a year goes by without any type of repeat. But now he has done something emotionally brutal. Wally Winkerbean is alive.

When the strip jumped 10 years in the future and it was discovered that Becky was married to John, the comic book shop owner, I assumed that Wally was killed in Iraq. But this week a hood was removed from a prisoner and it turned out to be Wally.

Wally went through a POW experience when he was sent to Afghanistan, so this is a bit of a retread. But worse than that, how can Tom do this to John and Becky?

John was prepared to propose to Becky the first time Wally was lost and presumed dead. But didn't the moment he found out that Wally was alive he stepped out of the picture, broken heart and all. In the interim he never loved anyone else. But then when Wally disappeared he was once again the man for Becky. Now his marriage will become null and void, Becky and the kids will be in turmoil, and Wally will have to realize that his wife moved on, again.

This is going to be a couple of tough months, four frames at a time.