You know those moments in movies where somebody gets behind the wheel of their car, and when they look in the rear view mirror, there's an intruder looming in the shadows of the backseat?You know how it always scares the living bejeebers out of the driver?
Yeah ... that happened to me tonight.
Jeanie left the house early to pick Adam up at football practice, and I thought Jesse had gone with her. After checking a couple of quick e-mails, I headed out to my car so the four of us could meet in a few minutes for dinner.
There's nobody in the passenger's seat. I put the key in the ignition ... look up into the mirror ... see the outline of somebody I did not know was in the car ... and at that split second ...
Hey, Dad!
Jesse always sits directly behind me when we're going somewhere, and more often than not, will start to sit there even if it's just the two of us. That's what he did tonight, and the thing is, he did not mean to intentionally frighten me. If he had, surely, it would not have worked nearly as well.
My car very nearly became a convertible when I jumped, trying to escape the "danger." I guess I should be proud, because I neither cussed nor peed in the floor in the process! Jesse couldn't stop laughing once he was sure that I was not, in fact, having a heart attack.
Me? Not so much.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
No. 65 -- Blue Moon
Adam
just ran through the house in his drawers, happened to bend over ... and
just like that, we discover a huge and strategically placed hole in the
drawers that show for all the world to see that, yes, he is in fact
most definitely a boy.
Me, Jeanie and her mom and dad are laughing so hard we're all crying, which of course just eggs him on. There's nothing that kid won't do to get a laugh, which Jeanie says will make him the perfect frat boy someday.
Hey, y'all. Watch this.
Jesse is also laughing hysterically and starts yelling, "My eyes! My eyes!" This is what it's like to live at my house.
Me, Jeanie and her mom and dad are laughing so hard we're all crying, which of course just eggs him on. There's nothing that kid won't do to get a laugh, which Jeanie says will make him the perfect frat boy someday.
Hey, y'all. Watch this.
Jesse is also laughing hysterically and starts yelling, "My eyes! My eyes!" This is what it's like to live at my house.
No. 64 -- Jesse's Untold Tales of the ER
The
boys and I came across one of those television shows where kids who've
gotten in trouble get taken to jail to see if it will possibly turn them
around. Jesse watched a few minutes and said that if he ever got in
that much trouble, he would probably wind up on television but it
wouldn't be on something like Scared Straight.
He's a man of few words, so it kind of got my attention. When I asked him why, he said, "If I ever mess up that bad, I'll have to go on Untold Stories of the ER so they can remove your foot from my butt."
Yep ... and I'm thankful he knows that.
He's a man of few words, so it kind of got my attention. When I asked him why, he said, "If I ever mess up that bad, I'll have to go on Untold Stories of the ER so they can remove your foot from my butt."
Yep ... and I'm thankful he knows that.
Friday, June 27, 2014
No. 63 -- Crash. Reset. New Aircraft
Every time I pick up the control box for my RealFlight RC flight simulator, I think of my dad.
When he was sick, he passed a lot of time by working on a HUGE RC Piper Cub. This sucker was massive, and while I'm pretty sure he never actually flew it due to his health, he tried to do the next best thing and use RealFlight to simulate the experience.
My dad and I never had a lot in common, but that was something over which we could connect. When I visited him, it never took long to make my way to the computer to open the RealFlight program. Both he and my brother Doug made fun of me for not being able to land a plane ... and flying a helicopter? That was absolutely out of the question. Within seconds, I would always crash.
While Dad and Doug gave me a hard time about not being able to land, I absolutely gave it right back to my father.
Hey, Dad, I would begin. Remember that time you demolished that plane you spent so much time and money on?
Yeah? What about it?
I would start a new journey on RealFlight and right away spiral it into the ground.
Watch this.
Clicking the reset button on the control box, a brand-new aircraft would immediately appear on the screen.
Crash. Reset. New aircraft.
Crash. Reset. New aircraft.
Crash. Reset. New aircraft.
He laughed.
After picking up a copy of RealFlight for my own computer, I'm now able to land an airplane on the runway ... most of the time. And helicopters? I'm still no pro ... but for your viewing pleasure ... I present to you the results of a lot of practice.
I typically fly a Huey, because that's the bird on which Dad flew so often in Vietnam. This isn't the prettiest flight you'll ever see, but ... hey ... I didn't crash.
This one's for you, Dad.
When he was sick, he passed a lot of time by working on a HUGE RC Piper Cub. This sucker was massive, and while I'm pretty sure he never actually flew it due to his health, he tried to do the next best thing and use RealFlight to simulate the experience.
My dad and I never had a lot in common, but that was something over which we could connect. When I visited him, it never took long to make my way to the computer to open the RealFlight program. Both he and my brother Doug made fun of me for not being able to land a plane ... and flying a helicopter? That was absolutely out of the question. Within seconds, I would always crash.
While Dad and Doug gave me a hard time about not being able to land, I absolutely gave it right back to my father.
Hey, Dad, I would begin. Remember that time you demolished that plane you spent so much time and money on?
Yeah? What about it?
I would start a new journey on RealFlight and right away spiral it into the ground.
Watch this.
Clicking the reset button on the control box, a brand-new aircraft would immediately appear on the screen.
Crash. Reset. New aircraft.
Crash. Reset. New aircraft.
Crash. Reset. New aircraft.
He laughed.
After picking up a copy of RealFlight for my own computer, I'm now able to land an airplane on the runway ... most of the time. And helicopters? I'm still no pro ... but for your viewing pleasure ... I present to you the results of a lot of practice.
I typically fly a Huey, because that's the bird on which Dad flew so often in Vietnam. This isn't the prettiest flight you'll ever see, but ... hey ... I didn't crash.
This one's for you, Dad.
Monday, August 13, 2012
No. 62 -- Don't Look Back
We've had a little bit of an event today, and I'm not sure Jeanie has recovered yet.
The boys started sixth grade last week, and Adam's homeroom teacher is also the head soccer coach at the local high school. He gets kids from his class to serve as ball boys, so, of course, Adam was the first to sign up. He was allllllll over it.
Jeanie took him to the high school for the varsity and junior varsity games ... and he promptly took off for the field, without ever once looking back. He left Jeanie standing, and not only that, but he left her standing at the high school.
Ouch. I don't think Adam and Jesse are little boys any more.
The boys started sixth grade last week, and Adam's homeroom teacher is also the head soccer coach at the local high school. He gets kids from his class to serve as ball boys, so, of course, Adam was the first to sign up. He was allllllll over it.
Jeanie took him to the high school for the varsity and junior varsity games ... and he promptly took off for the field, without ever once looking back. He left Jeanie standing, and not only that, but he left her standing at the high school.
Ouch. I don't think Adam and Jesse are little boys any more.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
No. 60 -- Boo
I don't think many things will ever mean as much to me as seeing Adam cry as we left Coleman Field in Cary, N.C. yesterday.
Let me explain.
Since Tuesday, I've been covering the NCAA Division II baseball championship tournament for NCAA.com. It's been a blast seeing the game played the way it's supposed to be played, with no money on the line. Best of all, Adam was able to spend Wednesday through Friday here with me.
Lord, did that kid have a ball. Actually, he had at least eight balls ... seven foul balls that he chased down or had tossed to him and a brand-new one given to him by an off-duty umpire who wondered into the press tent. He kept four of the gamers -- plus the new one that he got signed by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dave "Boo" Ferris.
That's us with Coach Ferris, an absolute legend for the Fighting Okra of Delta State University. I can only hope I make it to 90, much less have as much left in the gas tank as Coach Ferris.
Adam gave one of the baseballs away to a grandfather of a kid playing for Catawba College and another to the dad of a Delta State player. Yet another went to a kid who had a foul ball he was chasing take a bad hop and go to another youngster.
But he had a game to play himself tonight, so I took him back home yesterday. He didn't want to go, and if you want to know the honest truth, I didn't really want him to go, either. When we left the motel room yesterday morning, he actually made me leave first so he could take one last look around his kingdom for the last couple of nights.
Then, when we left the park yesterday, he cried.
I'm not going to have many chances to make as big an impression on him as I did here this week, and now that I'm back at the ballpark for tonight's national championship game, there seems to be something missing.
There is something missing. My assistant.
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