Another Birthday has come and gone

He is a good uncle whose love is more than returned in kind

This time our youngest.  Or as we like to call him, our little Catholic gift.  Nine years behind his next older brother, he has probably had it toughest of the bunch.  At least in terms of the context of his growing up.  In fact, he has spurred a debate in our family for some time.  Is it better to have had and lost, than never had at all?

In this case, the three older boys did pass the first decade or so of their lives in normal, middle class living.  We did the American middle class things.  My parents were still around and we visited them.  We took long trips to see my wife's family.  We went on family vacations.  Did things through the year.  Sports and school activities.  Of course church activities goes without saying.  Then we came into the Catholic Church. 

But by the time our youngest was beginning to be aware, we were entering into our half decade of hell.  And not just because of vast, societal and global events and economic collapses.  Some of it was just timing.  As the youngest by almost nine years on both sides of my family myself, I know the feeling of hearing tales of how the families all got together once upon a time.  Of seeing old photos where all the grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins were falling out of windows at any event that took place.  And then only seeing a smattering of that by the time I cam along, until almost nobody was left to see my kids or attend my wedding. 

Nonetheless, his brothers did yeoman's work bringing him in and trying to make him part of the four.  And this gave him a spunky spirit to be sure.  He's not afraid to stand up to people three times his size.  Though he sometimes struggled finding that balance, as often happens when kids grow up fast or are surrounded by grownups.  The maturity sometimes lagging behind the experience. 

But I think he's come out looking pretty good.  As the only one in the family born into the Catholic Church, he tends to embrace the whole package of Catholicism more smoothly than those of us from other backgrounds.  He also loves tech, and we're trying to impress upon him the wisdom of pursuing a career in that direction.  Not just physical tech, he loves the history, and can tell you how the sound was mixed when you're watching a movie, or the development of this or that video style, or what have you.  He also loves mixing sound and audio and, to a lesser extend, video.  He's gotten into a serious Beatles kick recently.  Which makes sense.  Diving into the world of audio recording and mixing and not studying the Beatles would be like diving into the space program and not studying NASA.

Apart from his unbridled hatred of all things Windows 11, he's also handy with building and fixing PCs.  As well as video came consoles.  Since he's the last one home with my wife and me, it's a bit of a change.  Though as always, his brothers continue to come through and make sure they're there with him when they can, even as their own lives are going strong in new directions.  Which, as always, can't help but make me glad.  So a blessed birthday year for him, and I must say, all is right with the world.  

With him here alone, it has given my wife a chance to step in and share times in ways she
didn't always do when the four were home together and doing things with me.

It captures his general pensiveness

Happiness is

Taking some pictures of your granddaughter, and seeing her decide to start striking different poses with each click sound: 

We did get to see both grandkids this weekend, but that one was too good to pass up and not post.  Nonetheless, never one to miss a chance to brag on them both, we had dinner with them today and that yielded a few good shots itself. 

The chunko whose favorite pastime is eating, and his sister invoking her inner hobbit

It was a happy 250th Celebration

As I said, fast on the heels of our third son's birthday came this year's 250th Independence Day celebrations.  Because we've been hit was some pretty hefty medical bills over the years, and the various boys have their expenses and lives and all, we were going to cut back on the fireworks that have become a thing ever since they were legalized here in the Buckeye State. But then we decided it just wasn't right, to cut out doing our own fireworks on none other than our 250th birthday as a nation. No way!  So my oldest found a buy 1, get 2 free deal and we jumped on it.   

Don't worry, we practice safe fireworks.  We don't get the monstrous kind.  Usually the type that make pretty lights displays.  We divided the whole celebration over two days.  On July 4th proper we went out while our town was setting off their own alternate fireworks display.  Even toned down, it was a pretty good show.  Better than some of the televised ones I'm sad to say.  And leaps better than the trash heap that has become Columbus's vaunted Red, White and Boom over the years (including this one). 

The next day, we had a grand multi-family cookout with my son's in-laws. That's the parents and one, two, three and four of their sons.  That's right.  The gremlins have six uncles. I'm not worried for their  well being in the upcoming years.  

It was a great time.  One of those weekends where everything seemed to work.  We even let the kiddos see some of the fireworks early on, particularly the quiet ones.  Their reactions are still being analyzed.  Otherwise, a fine time.  Because of schedules and folks going their own ways, we didn't have the usual 'patriotic viewing' of old.  But through July we'll try to catch up on a few things.  

One other odd note.  Some years it was customary for us to visit our big local cemetery and go around to the veterans, much like Memorial and Veterans Day.  Even if it would have been only our youngest with us.  But they had the cemetery closed on July 4th. I've not seen that before.  Strange. I can't help but wonder why.  But otherwise, a July 4th in our own humble way to be worthy of this country we've inherited on its 250th birthday. 

And now the pictures!

Impromptu baby cleaning with a couple of the uncles from the other family -
six in all, and not an aunt between them

Washing baby bucket is what happens
when babies eat July 4th picnics

My new official favorite pic of her

Dueling with giant sparklers - don't try this at home people

Looking more like a Victorian mystery than 4th of July

Our three oldest introduce our daughter-in-law to the
more dangerous ways to handle a sparkler

Our youngest tries to get fancy

Bad photo from dim lighting, but I like the effect

A Griffey family tradition: Build sculptures of sparklers and then burn away, 
trying to compete with the sun if we can

Another new tradition is run before the fireworks explode

A shot of our little finale for the year - a fine time

Though I seldom post any home videos, I figured it would be apropos to post this, the last of the fireworks we set off in our own humble display.  Happy 250th Birthday!

 

A shout out to our third oldest

It's that time of year again!  Our half of the year.  Though that has expanded to include May, due to our daughter-in-law and our granddaughter, with the storms of Pride/Juneteenth being a period where we have to hold our breaths from Memorial Day to our third son's birthday. And then it begins!

It's tough to separate our third oldest and his birthday from Independence Day that is always right around the corner.  Nonetheless, we managed to have a nice little gathering for him.  He's at once difficult and easy to buy for.  Easy because, with very few exceptions over the years, he loves whatever he gets.  Difficult, because on the whole he says he's basically happy and doesn't need much.  Plus his schedule, full time work, going to school, keeps him more than busy.  

Once he planned on going into law enforcement.  Then he was badly injured and had to miss part of a year of police training, and it was during that time that 2020 happened.  As he said, someday he might reconsider the police force once the country has decided to agree that it's always bad to kill police, rather than today where it's obviously up for grabs.

Instead, after waiting a few, he decided to pick up the baton that my oldest had to drop and go into the culinary world.  For whatever reason, all of our boys - the three oldest at least - have always done well in the kitchen.  While none of them match our oldest and his natural gift for mouth watering fare, they each have their areas of talent and expertise.  After working in restaurants to raise money for college, he concluded he already knows his way around that business model anyway, had already received promotions, and why not make it official.

He did hesitate for a time.  He felt bad going where our oldest now cannot go.  But I told him it's his life, and he can't not go somewhere just because his brother can't.  Once he announced his intentions, his brother was, for the record, happy and supportive.

Of course it being our third son, much of what he has is from sheer brute strength of will.  He managed to finagle a job at one of the premier restaurants in central Ohio.  It works along with the Cadillac of assisted living centers in these parts.  One of those centers whose family gatherings feel like a WEF meeting.  The head chef is one of the best in the area, and it is one of the locations that culinary students are sent to be tutored in the profession.  As my son says about his own situation, he gets paid for what others have to pay to get.

But being him, he doesn't hold back.  At one point he felt he wasn't where he needed to be.  That he was valuable enough to the company that he should be farther on.  So he went to the top and said they had best step up to the plate or he's out of there.  And they did, giving him more than he was wanting.  I joked with one of his brothers that they should try that in their jobs.  One said he could do the same thing, but they would know he didn't mean it. But that's our third son.  Of the four, the big, boisterous AAA personality.  Not one to hesitate, he tends to plow forth.  So here's to him on his latest birthday, may many blessings come his way over the upcoming year. Happy Birthday! 

Holding his first nephew

UPDATE:  As if to drive home the point of his big personality and can do attitude, even the gremlins concede the initiative to him!:

A belated Fathers Day reflection

 

That's my dad in the lefthand photo when I was a tyke.  That chunker he's holding is me.  My older sister is next to him.  That was Atlantic City. I think the only family vacation we took in those early years.  At least the only one they ever talked about. Despite my dad's love of travel, we seldom did, at least as a whole family.  I think I can count on both hands the actual family trips we took. And several of those were after my sister got married the first time and moved out.  If memory serves, one point of contention with her was that she always wanted to stay home and talk on the phone - cell phones being distant science fiction at that point.

Anyway, the other picture is of my second oldest and his daughter this Father's Day.  As the uncles call her, the gremlin. 

Gratuitous pics of Gremlins 1 & 2

He's reading with her because he and my daughter-in-law are purposefully toning down their kids' exposure to electronics, including TV.  They might let her watch an older kid's show - Blues Clues or The Wiggles for instance - but that's it.  And that maybe once a day (twice on rare occasions), if at all.

When the boys were growing up, they were in public school.  We tried to jostle the difference between how we would raise them and the world in which they lived.  We wanted them to do other than just sit about on electronics, watch television or, heaven forbid, be on social media (not yet a big thing then).  But we also wanted them to at least have an idea of the greater cultural ocean in which they were swimming.  We wanted them to be aware of what was happening around them, if nothing else so they could relate to their classmates better. 

Part of this was finding things in the current day that weren't terribly offensive, like Harry Potter, or the Marvel movies, or some of the books of that era.  Part of this was also making sure at home they were exposed to older books, older movies, older TV shows.  It was no strange development that shows like The Andy Griffith Show were among their favorites when their peers liked shows I had never heard of.  Likewise, one of the teachers in their middle school told me how once he saw my oldest reading a book in the cafeteria.  He noticed it was leather bound, when he said kids by then were increasingly on tablets or at best reading graphic novels.  He went up and looked and saw my son reading Oliver Twist.  He was taken by that. 

When we decided to homeschool in the middle of the school year (long story there), I sent a bulk email to all teachers and staff concerned.  I explained why we were doing so, to a point, without being mean about it.  Most said they understood.  One teacher, who had all three of my sons, wrote back.  He said they were always good kids (and they were).  But while they got along well enough, to differing degrees based on the son in question, they were always a bit - off.  Different than the others.  Not in a bad way mind you.  They just always seemed to march to the beat of a different drum. And I never minded that.

If we were raising the boys today, however, I think we'd be closer to what our son and daughter-in-law are doing.  Because despite all the changes from that day in Atlantic City to the days of my older sons' childhoods, there were still similarities in culture, norms and expectations for the future.  Something they are the first to acknowledge.  Likewise, they are also the first to acknowledge - rather bluntly - that all of that has since changed in the last dozen years or so.  Which is why, raising kids today, I'm going with the books and music and walks through the park over exposure to anything produced in the modern era that requires electricity, except as a rare treat.  

A father's day thought reflecting on the world my father knew and the world my grandchildren will confront.  

From last Thanksgiving, but just as much fun

It's official!

Per my granddaughter, my name is officially 'Pops.'  Not Pop.  It's plural, for I am many.  Now, the naming of grandparents is a difficult matter.  It isn't just one of your holiday games.  Obviously, since it took her this long to settle on a preferred name.  All the other grandparents had claimed their title, but I was patient.  I floated 'O Mighty One', but it didn't stick.  So Pops it is.  I like it. It has pep.  And I'll never grow tired of hearing them say 'Pops'.  Though other grandchildren down the way will be able to choose their own names for me, I do request the names be the same per family.  

Gratuitous grandkiddo collage:  

Because nothing lifts the day more than smiling and happy grandchildren.  

Gratuitous proud Grandpappy moment

 Just for the sheer glee of it:

Because of the stupidly stupid memory problems with my PC, I've been more off than on recently.  But I realized it's been far too long since I posted pics of the little'uns. Owing to life, it's tough getting pictures of all the boys when they're together.   This might sound crazy, but when we do get together the emphasis is more on time together than clicking pictures.  But getting pics of the ever growing grandkids never gets old.  Especially as Mr. grandson is fast approaching his six month mark and his older sister is nearing yet another birthday! 

It was 46 years ago

To the day that the US won the gold this year, that the legendary Miracle on Ice took place.  I was in 7th grade when that miracle happened, and only vaguely aware that a sport called hockey existed.  This is football country after all, with the occasional nod to college basketball or baseball (see the Big Red Machine from a few years earlier).  But in February of 1980, on the 22nd, I became very aware of hockey.  

It was the Cold War.  And though you already had a significant portion of the American Left working overtime to turn as many Americans against our own country as it could, they were still a minority. Even if they enjoyed a disproportionate representation in many of our nation's elite institutions, the main gist seemed to be a desire for God Bless America to continue.  So needless to say, that underdog victory against the Soviets came as quite a patriotic boost.  Especially in the doldrums of Carter's last year as president.  

Fast forward to today.  We always try to watch the Olympics.  The first one I was aware of was the 1976 Montreal Olympics, when young Nadia Comaneci wowed the world in gymnastics.  Others would follow.  In most years it's a mix of astonishing victories and crushing disappointments.  

Perhaps the most enjoyable games as a spectacle were the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan in 1998.  Beyond the famous Hermanator's crash of the ages (He'll be back!):

it was probably the most interesting, for the media did wonders unpacking life in Japan, its history, its culture - you felt like you were there visiting in person.  

For my older boys, there will never be one like the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  You had Usain Bolt absolutely stunning the world in a track record that has yet to be beat.  Quite simply, he is bult like a distance runner but has the speed of a sprinter.  And of course, you had the aquatic phenom Michael Phelps becoming the record breaking gold medal winner in one of the most thrilling photo finishes in Olympics history: 

Phelps and Bolt would be back to do it again in the troubled, yet exciting, 2016 Rio Olympics, that also saw the rise of swimming superstar Katie Ledecky.  When the broadcast showed an animated map demonstrating how many miles she has swam and how many times that would circle the globe, the boys still chuckle thinking of it. 

So not only are there always thrill a minute moments, there's just a certain pride in seeing one's own country do well.  I know, there have been protests over the years.  In fact, my sons asked me this year if any Olympic athletes outside of the US have ever protested their own country at the Olympics like we've had happen. I told them I'm sure I don't know.  

But those are usually the exception to the rule.  And we saw it this time, as Americans couldn't help but be proud on the anniversary of the Miracle on Ice (and Washington's birthday to boot!), when the (once again) underdog USA hockey team pulled a stunner in yet another nail biter for the record books. 

We got home from Mass just in time to see the last seconds of regulation time before they went into overtime with a 1 to 1 score.  Knowing very little of hockey, I get the gist - get puck in goal.  And apparently the US goalie is legend, because through the entire Olympics I believe he allowed only two goals.  Without knowing much, I can tell that's impressive. 

But it was an exciting, nail-biting win.  And it was a good feeling, and a little bit of a return to Proud to be an American thinking.  Not a bad thing in these crazy times. 

From the man who made the winning goal

The (almost) last of the birthdays

At least traditionally for the young'uns.  Now that we have our first November baby in the family, that title will pass to him.  Nonetheless, October, in addition to having my late Grandma's birthday, the month of my best childhood friend's birthday, and the Feast of St. Francis to boot, was also the month our oldest son was born. 

Not the one born to the best fortunes, he suffered from ill health in his early years.  We never knew why.  But endless doctors visits and hospitals and surgeries were his lot in his youngest days.  A lot of it was respiratory, and we began to think that living in the Ohio River Valley, known for its panoramic vistas of endless coal plants and thousand foot smokestacks, might be part of the culprit. 

In 1999, while I was pastoring a church in southeast Indiana, and quite frankly one of the most pleasant of all the congregations I ministered to, we nonetheless decided to move away.  We came up to Ohio, where skies might be gray more often than not, but without the same industrial blanket covering the air.

And things turned for him.  Within a year, most of the problems he had vanished, which was nice.  Of course being the first child he was what all first children are, and that's our guinea pig.  You look back when you're a parent at your first kiddo and just shake your head.  By the time the other ones come along, you're already getting your parent's feet on firm ground.  But those first ones are the ones who bear the brunt of your learning.

Nonetheless, with all the ups and downs he lived through, I can't deny he makes us proud.  Everyone here knows how he had planned to go into the world of gourmet cooking, only to be torpedoed by an out of the blue seafood allergy.  After wondering for a year or so what to do then, he finally found his new path and has been working toward it, where he stands today.  

But he has a knack for excelling whenever he puts his mind to it.  In middle school, though already involved in school activities like band, he decided to go out for track in order to enter the sports side of life.  It was a dismal performance.  At one point during a race, he actually veered off the track and slipped and fell.  The good news was that he was so far behind everyone else, nobody noticed.  Not to be beaten, however, he went out for cross country the following year. He asked me - who had run track and such in my day- to train him.  And so I did.  By the end of that season, he was second in his school only to the boy who was a freak of nature when it came to running, with our son often coming in near the front few even with multiple schools competing. 

But that's been him.  He may start out slow.  Sometimes he takes forever to start.  And that wasn't the only time he began with a trip and a fall.  But once he hunkers down and sets his mind to it, even if life throws him a curve ball that makes him change his entire life's plans, he ends up graduating, and with honors to boot. 

By request, a family outing for our yearly pumpkins

And off to a local college football game

Not OSU, but a great game and a great time nonetheless

For old times' sake on our way from the old apple orchard

A nice shot that captures his thoughtfulness

Getting her own pumpkin right before her brother arrived!

Right now he is in the process of going back to graduate school, the application being quite an undertaking, given his major.  More on that down the line.  As it is, he's still that oldest son.  And while we have always loved our sons equally and have made sure to divvy out our attentions across the board, there is no denying that there will always be something about that first child - no matter how old they are.  

Obligatory gloating over the grandkids picture, speaking of birthdays - now that they're both here to cause endless mischief: 

Grandpa - The Sequel

Busy, busy, busy.  The call came at 3AM this morning that things were happening fast, and now we have:

A younger brother to keep our granddaughter busy.  I have to admit, I've loved having a granddaughter after raising four boys.  But there is something about finding out you have a grandson by one of your sons.  I'll call today a win, no matter what else has been going on.  A big shout out to God on this one!

Another belated birthday shout-out to our second oldest.

Another belated birthday shout-out to our second oldest, several weeks late. As my boys are still on their journeys, and by the grace of God they will never really stop those journeys in this lifetime, I must say our second oldest does us proud.  He cashed in his credit on some pretty tough cards dealt to him for a time by running into a young lady who is what you would want for a first time daughter-in-law.  

He is still on his journey, but is in the process of helping build a family in the process.  Always curious and never settled, he and his wife are forever coming up with ideas, taking chances, thinking outside the box and generally building a legacy of creativity, leaps in faith and amazing accomplishments.

In barely a few years together, and only a couple years of marriage, they have opened a brick and mortar bookstore while our country was in the financial doldrums of the previous four years, redefined their business venture and bringing more financial success, published their own novel, gotten involved in their church, he has become involved in the community theater, she has developed a staggeringly good talent for binding and repairing books, and all while being first time parents in the wake of a birth that was anything close to calm and routine.  

To illustrate their approach to life, when he auditioned for a part in the local play You Can't Take it With You, he got the part of Ed Carmichael, the eccentric musician wannabe.  Problem is, in the play Ed is the xylophone player always tapping along through different scenes.  My son had never come close to playing the instrument before.  My third oldest, while he was in school and played percussion in band, did have some experience.  So he got his old bells from school and gave them to my thespian son, and viola!  After a self-taught crash course, he managed to learn the instrument enough to sell the part.  Not bad, and pretty much their lives together in a nutshell. 

Still a favorite picture

Teaching himself a new instrument - not bad at all
(from You Can't Take it With You)

As the eccentric Ed Carmichael, peering around Paul 
to catch a glimpse of the action
(from You Can't Take it With You)

With our youngest, also in the play, after a performance
(from You Can't Take it With You)

A born angler, thanks to his in-laws' family

A chance for all smiles

As a young family, they'll have their ups and downs, triumphs and failures, struggles and accomplishments.  But their daughter is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen.  And more to the point, when she sees them coming to pick her up, she beams with smiles big enough to light the sky.  If I didn't know anything else about them, that alone would be evidence that they are definitely doing something right.  

Obligatory cuteness collage must be posted!

Gratuitous granddaughter picture

Yes, I'm that unashamedly proud.  In only a couple months, she'll have a younger sibling to help take care of.  It should be fun. 

A good question

So we're trying to get back to that old game of games, World in Flames, when one of my sons asked something that I thought was a good question. He asked why is it that 'Jap' is considered a racist term, and 'kraut' is merely considered a derogatory term?  After all, Jap is really just short for Japanese.  Yet that's racist.  While kraut is a term digging at that particular cuisine preference common in parts of Germany and Austria.  Yet it's not racist.  Why is that?  Heck, why is Jap offensive at all when we called our own closest allies Limeys?  A term, once again, merely described as either slang or perhaps derogatory, but not racist.  

I told him I can't say, but I can sure guess.

Anyway, I will be out and about over the next few days.  God willing, I'll be back to answer comments and see what other mischief the World is getting into.  Until then, Pax. 

It is a sad fact

That our youngest has been on the receiving end of some pretty ill timed events in our lives.  He was born of our entrance into the Catholic Church and the change in lifestyle approaches that such a commitment brings.  If you get my drift. 

Of course that was the beginning of the rough years, until things stabilized for us, only to be plunged into crazy and chaos again.  Then, after several years of some more hard knocks, we entered 2020 looking pretty darn good.  Then, well, you know. 

This year was his big sixteenth birthday.  A somewhat solitary young fellow, we pulled out all the stops and got him the materials needed for him to build his own computer.  He's seriously into tech, retro-tech, and of all things, sound and video mixing.  He has taken to getting old VCR compilations that are no longer available, or practical because of companies' refusal to make new VCRs, and is transferring them onto digital formats - no easy thing since many had measures to prevent easy copying.  But he's done quite well.  We saved money when he build a PC for my wife's work when she was at home rather than having to buy a new one outright. 

Nonetheless, no sooner were we getting ready for his sweet sixteenth than my mom had her latest stroke the day before.  Then shortly after, my father-in-law's health took a sudden turn for the worse, leading to his unexpected passing.  That was his birthday.  His previous special birthdays often ending up in the same way.

Because of that, we try to balance it out by doing what we can.  Right now, we're having that 'talk' about my mom, if we can in any practical way continue to help her at home.  We are cognizant of the fact that nobody in any of our families has the relationship with her that he has.  My mom and dad were always there to help raise my nephew, and when we moved to Ohio they were often here with the boys to visit and help out.  

But our youngest was there when my mom moved in with us, and almost immediately he began to have to help take care of her.  And he has.  It was he who alerted us to her serious health crisis back in 2017 that  almost took her from us.  Had he not done that, we would have lost her then (his intervention along with fast thinking help from my other older sons at the time of course). And he has been every bit as good with medications, feeding and basic care as any of us.  So what this will do if she must go to the next stage in her life regarding care in a nursing home, we don't know.  

Nonetheless, for all of it, he's proven to be resilient.  I would never say he's the lowest key of the brothers and no doubt his life of ups and frequent downs gives him an edge and an almost obsessive determination when there is something he wants.  He thinks nothing of kicking in doors and putting his foot down until he at least gets something out of his goal.  Set him on a task that interests him and watch the rest of the world fade away as he throws himself into the job until it's done. A trait that can be both good or bad, depending on how it is cultivated.  Yet he has a big heart, and this is best seen when we watch him with our granddaughter or my mom.

Part of his nature and mature perspectives no doubt come from his relationship with his brothers.  Over the years I've seen more than one child born crazy late after a set of older siblings.  Often they are simply 'the young kid' with the older siblings going on with their lives, forever seeing the youngest as merely a distant youngest.  But our three older sons have done yeoman's work over the years making sure they weren't the party he missed.  They really have made him 25% of the Griffey boys.  And for that I am ever grateful.

So here's to a smoother year ahead for him.  I think after all the years before, he's earned it. 

The four boys with our daughter-in-law; not the three and daughter-in-law plus the kid. 
All is right with the world

Another birthday comes around

I've beat that dead horse about 'our time of the year', which doesn't mean as much now that our daughter-in-law, her and our son's anniversary, and our little doll granddaughter all have their big days in May.  And, as can be expected, things have always been muddied anyway, with each year various forces trying to intrude on any and all traditions, customs and ties to the past, no matter the time of year.  

Nonetheless, our third oldest's birthday, now after that goofy Juneteenth that nobody seems to know why we celebrate, has special punch to it.  It's around the six month sprint to Christmas, still that most magical time of year despite Madison Avenue's and Hollywood's attempts otherwise.  And it means we're on the down slope from Summer (my least favorite season) and heading into Fall (my most favoritest).

This wasn't one of the big, monumental birthdays.  But it wasn't a lost one either.  Comfortably in his mid 20s, he's going to culinary school to pick up where his older brother had to leave off.  Years ago, after the BLM riots caused him to step away from going into law enforcement (shame, he's the large, big hearted type you want as a police officer, but that's leftwing activism for you), he confided in me about something.  That is, he also enjoys cooking and wouldn't mind going into the world of gourmet cooking - he just didn't have the heart because of his brother.  I told him that's commendable, but he also has his life and own calling to think about.  After some time, and hard work, and getting to work next to one of central Ohio's top chefs, he decided to take the plunge - with his oldest brother's blessings. 

As birthdays go, with all the health roller coasters we've been riding these last couple months, it was a little sedate.  We got him the obligatory wargame (he is our board game guru after all).  He was gifted a couple other things that he enjoyed (he's so easy to buy for). We were shocked at how much he loved one of his gifts.  We weren't really imagining that, but that's the fun of gift giving.  His menu request was rather simple this year - Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with fixins.  And a nice family time with the others and the grandbaby bringing the fun.  

Plus, for added fun, a while back we decided to take the plunge into that colossus of all wargames that I've written about, World in Flames.  The ultimate comprehensive WWII game.  It's a favorite of his; more a stand alone hobby than a game.  More about logistics than military maneuvers, and he's all about logistics.  No matter what he does in life, he'll be happier if it involves crunching numbers.  Of course we no longer can get all the brothers around for something like that.  But we decided this time we'll adopt a sort of 'deal me in/deal me out' approach.  That is, as long as one is on each side and available, we can play.  The others will be brought up to speed when they're around.  I also promised this time I'll keep a log so whatever crazy might happen to disrupt things, we won't have to start from scratch because we can't remember what was happening. That made him happy.

So as birthdays go in tumultuous times, not bad.  Here's to another year and a blessed one ahead. 

Happy birthday to the cute one

 

Hard to believe it was a year ago that we were in the NICU with her, seeing her hooked up to the tubes and wires that were keeping her alive.  She is certainly a fighter.  And about as happy a baby as I’ve known.  

I'm especially glad with the top corner pic of my mom and her playing together.  Right now Mom is in a skilled rehab facility, trying to help her get over her injury from turning too fast over the arm of a chair.  At her age, anything deviating from the norm is a problem.  But prayers are she'll be back with us soonest.  In the meantime, she still enjoys seeing pictures of the little'un when I visit her. 

I'll admit that being a grandparent is everything it’s cracked up to be.  For all the happiness she brings all of us, a blessed and happy year for her and her parents.

Updated links for the new book

The book launch went very well, and it looks like things are off to a great start. To that end, it appears the first batch of books at Amazon are now out of stock.  So I was given the following links for those interested.  One is for the paperback, and one is for the hardcover.  Again, spread the word, tell a friend, and remember, there are only 274 shopping days until Christmas!

Hardcover Link is here.

Paperback Link is here.

Thanks again!

The big day is here

As I've said, not content with getting married, starting a new life, having a first child - and one born prematurely no less - and going into business themselves by opening a brick and mortar book store, my son and daughter-in-law decided to publish a novel.  That's right, and actual novel.   

I could never do something like that, lacking the discipline to keep going past writing my name on the cover page.  But they did it, and after more than two years writing, editing, rewriting and writing some more, today is the big release date.  

In keeping with how youngsters apparently like things being promoted nowadays, here are some images that tap into the feel of the setting and the fictional world they've built together: 

I'll admit, anything that can tap into Anime and Horatio Hornblower and King Crimson at the same time has to be worth looking at.  Which is why their book has me looking forward to what they have done and created.  If those of you who like the various genres it taps into, or fantasy fiction or similar approaches to story telling in general, I'll refer you to the Amazon page:

The Heart of Resistance at Amazon

where hopefully by now it is available.  They tell me of all the places to get the book, Amazon apparently helps them the most, picking it up in person at the store being the only better way.  Feel free to get your own copy.  Tell a friend. Spread the news.  Hijack a bus.  Anything to let the world know there are a couple new authors in town, something our modern literary age should be happy to hear. 

So there you have it.  I'm proud of all my boys.  But at this time, a special congrats to those two for their industry and commitment and the fact that going on three years of their business in these crazy economic times, they found time to be good and loving parents, committed to pursuing their dreams, and taking one more amazing step  in the life they've chosen to travel together.  Something I'll admit warms the cockles of this papa's heart. 

Oh, and another gratuitous photo of the little one, because you can never have enough laughing baby pictures: