Ring the Dinner Bell

Since becoming a new dad I find myself constantly comparing my childhood to Braden's. Obviously in 30 years there have been some major changes. As Brad Paisley sings in "Welcome to the Future" we now have things like TVs in our cars and Pac Man on our cell phones. Those things seemed as futuristic as the Jetsons when I was a kid. The changes brought about by the computer revolution and digital age have been covered ad nauseum. I have even written about life before computers and the internet.

What about the things that just seemingly pass away. There are no more VCRs. We no longer need typewriters. There are so many other things that my kids will never know about from machinery to toys to even words.

Today I was wondering if children of this generation are familiar with the dinner bell. Do they think it is a bell that rings when the oven timer goes off? Do they think it has something to do with feeding the dogs? Maybe they think it is the latest hip hop lingo introduced by the rapper du jour.

When I was a kid we played outside every day. My best friend and I played until we were forced to come home. We played in the strip of woods by our house constantly. It was really just a large grouping of trees, but it might as well have been the hundred acre wood to us. We killed hundreds of birds and even one very unlucky rabbit with our BB guns. We built clubs, climbed trees, and did anything else that fell under boys will be boys. The only thing that could bring us home was our mother's yell.

Every day one of our mom's would come to the porch and yell when dinner was ready. Granted this is not the traditional dinner bell, but it worked for us. We were at times a quarter mile away, but somehow our parents would always get the message to us via a loud shout.

There are many reasons why this type of dinner bell doesn't work today. The first most obvious reason is that kids are inside more often. They love video games. They love their virtual friends on facebook or whatever other social networking they are using these days. We all know that kids are just less active today.

Another reason is that the world seems scarier now. Not many parents let their kids roam free like we did back then. You just can't trust anyone anymore. My friend and I once got chased by a lady with a broom. Today that might have turned out much worse.

Finally there is the almighty cell phone. From what I can tell most kids get their own cell phone right after kindergarten graduation. So if by some chance a kid wanted to go outside a call is all that would be needed to bring them back.

For all those reasons today there is no need for a dinner bell just like there is no need for a record player. Let's hope though that we can find a safer, better place in this world so that we can at least use our over complicated computer phones to call our kids back to dinner from a day of exercise more often. I think this new type of dinner bell could benefit us all.

Hey Arica, Remember When...

As the father of a recently turned one year old son I can safely say that 2009 was the most life changing year of my life. I feel like Austin Powers after that last sentence. Allow myself to introduce...myself. Bad writing aside I have decided to write a post to Arica about things we may have forgotten about life without a child. Of course life with Braden is far better than life before Braden, but I thought it would be fun to reminisce.

Remember when

...Braden's room was an extra bedroom

...There were no rubber ducks nesting in our bathroom

...You could see the corners in the living room

...You had a pregnancy pillow

...The dogs actually lived inside the house

...You craved beef jerky, Cheetos, and coke icies

...We were fighting about baby names

...We had a pool table

...There were no monkeys in our house

...You told me you were pregnant

That Baby Stole My 4-Wheeler

Braden has taken over control of every aspect of my life, and now he has fully claimed my throne as man of the house. The position has unofficially been his since birth. I am now ready to fully authenticate his title. What happened to make me so sure he is now untouchable?

Braden got a 4-wheeler.

I have wanted one for years. I have been walking to the deer stand this year. In previous years I have borrowed 4-wheelers from my dad and from Arica's dad. I have bummed rides and asked to be dropped off and picked up, but I still haven't got my own 4-wheeler.

When a guy is single he tries to get all the toys he can. Shortly before I met Arica I just went out and bought a fishing boat. Why? I wanted one. That was the only reason I needed. After marriage those type purchases just don't happen, and rightfully so. Everything is a family decision now. After a child new toys seem further in the past. Now Braden has made my dream his own.

He got his very own ATV for his birthday, and he has loved riding it from day one. We put him on the seat and showed him how to push the pedal down to accelerate. Since then Arica and I have spent plenty of time turning him around at each end of the house. As you can see in the video below he enjoys the ride. You can also see that he has no interest whatsoever in watching where he is going as he slaloms through the landmines that are all his other birthday gifts. Braden just pushes the gas and rides with wreckless abandonment.



I can only hope when he gets older he will let me borrow his next 4-wheeler, because I don't have any delusions of being able to regain the throne in the next 18 years.

Let's Eat Turkey in a Big Brown Shoe

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. It is a great time spent with family doing one of my favorite things, eating. The day is also complete with football and sometimes deer hunting. It is a very manly holiday. There are limited decorations. It requires no gift shopping. It only requires that you bring an appetite and a loose fitting pair of pants.

Of course the true sentiment behind the holiday is great as well. I have so much to be thankful for, and I never take the proper time to appreciate all my blessings. All of us should take time every day to say thanks even though we so often forget. So as you gather around the table today I hope you are giving thanks for the blessings in your life.

This has been a particularly tough year for me. There have been problems in many different areas of my life. Even with the struggles I am eternally thankful for my blessings today. I am so thankful to have a beautiful healthy son. I am so thankful to have a wife that puts up with my stubborn selfish ways. I am thankful to live in this great country and in the beautiful town of Hot Springs, AR. I am thankful that I have been blessed with abilities that allow me to provide a comfortable life for my family. The list of things I have to be thankful for could go on forever.

I have been given much in life that I don't deserve. I hope that beginning with this day of thanks I can start giving more back. I hope that by this time next year I have given other people reason to give thanks rather than just hogging the blessings for myself.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to support my little blog here. It has been fun this year getting to know you all as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

25 Odds and Ends About Me

PJ over at Real Men Drive Minivans tagged me with a meme yesterday. I am always open to a decent meme because it is free blog fodder. So I switched off the part of my brain that is constantly searching for blog material for a little while and answered a few questions. I am not too interesting so I hope you don't fall asleep.

1. Name someone with the same birthday as you. Mel Torme. I don't care anything about him other than this awesome appearance on Seinfeld. Skip to the 5:50 mark to see the velvet fog sing a song to Kramer.
   
   
   


2. Where was your first kiss? On the mouth.


3. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else’s property? Yes, and I have the prison tats to prove it


4. Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex? No.


5. Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people? Only if drunken karaoke counts. I have retired from that circuit but I used to do an awesome rendition of "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe.


6. What’s the first thing you notice about your preferred sex? I noticed my wife's eyes.


7. What really turns you off? Idiots


8. What do you order at Starbucks? I don't order much because $5 coffee is just insane. I usually get a latte. I am very adventurous.


9. What is your biggest mistake? Not backing my wife during some past family conflicts


10. Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose? I have slapped myself in the face to keep me awake when driving. Does that count?


11. Say something totally random about yourself. I hate Cheez-its.


12. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? Tim McGraw about a thousand times. I take that as a compliment.


13. Do you still watch kiddie movies or TV shows? Yes, TV with Braden and cartoon movies with or without him


14. Did you have braces? Yes, and like my Friend PJ headgear as well.


15. Are you comfortable with your height? No. I would prefer to be tall enough to spit on other people and tell them it's raining.


16. What is the most romantic thing someone of the preferred sex has done for you? Married me


17. When do you know it’s love? When you are willing to do anything just to be with them (including skipping ballgames or willfully watching reality TV)


18. Do you speak any other languages? I studied french in high school and still know a few words of that. Spending time in Italy taught me how to read almost any fully Italian menu. You have to have priorities when learning a language.


19. Have you ever been to tanning salon? My wife worked in one so I visited her. Never have I or never will I tan in a salon.


20. Have you ever ridden in a limo? After our wedding


21. What’s something that really annoys you? Right now? There are too many things to list. Right now I am annoyed by society's requirement for me to work for a living.


22. What’s something you really like? Sausage


23. Can you dance? Not even a little bit


24. Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room? No


25. Tag 5 people. I am not going to tag anyone because no one ever responds to my tags. So if you want to do this meme do it and have some fun. I am giving an open tag to all.