Let Them Eat Corn.

I wish I could say that we turned a corner tonight and are now eating, but that's wishful blogging.

Still, he ate corn.

Baby steps. Or at least that's what we keep telling ourselves.

Voices in the Dark When the A/C is Out

Isn't it funny how the air conditioner never goes out at 8 am on a Tuesday? How your plumbing never backs up while you're home for lunch on Thursday?

No, the air goes out on Saturday night. In August. When the grandparents are visiting and someone has the stomach flu. That's just how it happens.

The plumbing backs up on Friday about 10:00 pm. Mom has had the week from Hades. She was in the tub an extra-long time. And big brother is home from college for the weekend. The washer started filling as he turned into the driveway. Water has been running all evening. Someone in our house flushed at the exact same time as someone next door, a collision of wastes occurs a block or so from the house, and moments later you hear the tell-tale gurgle from the hallway toilet.

I'm not sure what day of the week it was, but our A/C was out. And it was hot. Like the kind of hot where the squirrels come out of the trees and lay on the ground in the afternoon. Immediately a call was placed, and of course we were somewhere down the list. The repair man was not coming until tomorrow.

We had one box fan in our possession. Housed on the top shelf in the garage right next to the ice cream freezer. Our house was never big on fans or circulating air other than the A/C cycling on and off. I always had a humidifier. We didn't have ceiling fans in any of the bedrooms at the time. It was really, suffocatingly hot.

I must have been 7 or 8, which meant my brother was fourteen or fifteen. Old enough to be cool, but hot enough to sleep in the one room with the box fan, even if it meant being on the floor beside his parents' bed and beside his little brother. I was definitely younger than 10, because our Cocker Spaniel was nowhere in this equation. Still, cool big brother was there beside me. We propped the box fan on dad's side of the bed, tucked their dust ruffle under the mattress so that the air would reach us on mom's side, and tried to sleep.

Somewhere around 11 or 12, my parents (whose whispers must have been inaudible over the roar of the fan blades) decided that since we had taken up residence in their room, they would sneak out and into one of our rooms.

At this point, it is important to note my cool, older brother's propensity to listen to the radio while he was falling asleep. I still remember his black and silver twin tape deck jam box. It was perpetually wedged between his bed and the wall.

As my chucking, yet clearly mean-spirited parents giggled themselves into his room and around to his bed, one of them stepped on the jam box, which immediately blared out a male voice - most likely some cheesy late-night DJ.

My brother and I heard it. We assumed my parents heard it.

A man. The voice of a man. He must have been outside the window. Right outside the window.

I was the first to speak.

"What was that?"

My brother...

"There's someone outside the window."

"Mom? Dad.....? THEY'RE GONE!"

Immediately, we both jumped bolt-upright. And remember, it was hot. No a/c. So I'm in my underwear. White, tight briefs.

The rest was a blur. A blur of terror-stricken motion. A blur of thoughts speeding through my mind...Who was this man outside the window? Where were mom and dad? Was my brother still beside me? Was I fast enough to outrun this evildoer? What would become of me?

A blur. A blur of skinny white boy and straight blonde hair and tight, white underwear. Straight to the front door, and straight out and down the driveway.

My parents, laughing hysterically, behind me every step of the way screaming, "We're here, Todd, we're here!!!"

What a mean trick.

I've never forgotten it.

I've secretly never forgiven them.

And I'm certainly, definitely looking forward to the day when Jenny and I can do something like this to Benjamin. Hold on to your briefs, my sweet little boy. Your day's coming.

More Stay-cation and Friday Night Fun

Tuesday afternoon my brother came to town to pick up a camera and attend a visitation for his college football coach, so he was able to join us for our second-day stay-cation dinner at NYPD Pizza. I had yet to eat there, and we had a really good coupon, so we tried it. Spencer and Benjamin ran a muck! It's like Benjamin finally realized, "Hey, this kid can keep up with me, and he's fun!"

Wednesday and Thursday meant back to work for Jonathan and me, but one of our members gave both of us tickets to the symphony Friday night, so our stay-cation came back to life for a few hours. Jenny and I were self-proclaimed DSO snobs...we've been to five Christmas Celebrations at the Meyerson, and I don't think anything other than Boston could ever rival it.

However, it's a blessing to have the opportunity to hear great music, no matter where you live. And it's also impressive that a city this size has such a talented group of musicians.

We had a great time at this concert. The theme was Spotlight on Hollywood. The guest conductor, Carl Topliow, was incredibly talented and entertaining. This was one of their family concert series events, so it was laid-back and he really engaged the audience. The selections for the night ranged from The Wizard of Oz to Psycho, The Godfather to Pirates of the Caribbean. It was funny how recognizable every score was. I've never seen Psycho or Godfather or even (yes, I know) Jaws, but the music is so much a part of each movie that you instantly felt like you had been listening to it for years.

Carl Topilow, with his signature Red Clarinet. He led the orchestra in the Cantina Bar music from Return of the Jedi, and it was incredible.

It had been a tradition for Jenny and I to celebrate the holidays with the Dallas concert, but now that we have a kid and it's hard to get away, I think we'll make plans to attend the holiday pops concert here at home.

Then again - maybe I'll hang on to some birthday money this fall and we'll make it back to Dallas in December.

Stay-Cation 2010

We had plans to be at a friend's lake house for a couple of nights this week, and our friends Lauren and Jonathan were going to join us. Since the lake house belongs to a family with older children, and we haven't been there before (don't know what to expect, what is breakable, what we would do, where we would eat) we decided to wait and go when the boys are a little older.

And with the decision to stay home, the first annual Bunch-Kelley Stay-Cation began. Our first night was without the boys. We sent Ben to Jenny's parents and Spencer stayed at home with his aunt, and then went to eat at Cantina. We sat on the patio, talked loudly, laughed a lot, and didn't wipe a single nasty face or snotty nose. After dinner, we went to ZaZa for gelatto.

Tuesday morning, we met at the zoo for a morning of train rides and turtle watching.

Spencer is just now big enough that he can really enjoy watching the animals.

It didn't take long until Benjamin heard the train whistle...and once he did, he took off...

Yelling, CHOO CHOO...

And ALL ABOARD...

With every step...

Clear the way, train coming thru. Everybody stand back!

Rocking chairs on the front porch at Cafe Africa.

Peeking out of the Cowboy Cut-out.

And Spencer, too.

And we're all aboard for our first every zoo train ride.

Lauren and Jonathan with our buddy Spencer.

Not too sure where this train is headed...

Luckily the Grizzly Bear was awake and up close.

So far, it's been a great Stay-Cation. We're at our houses now while both boys nap. Tonight, it's out for pizza for the six of us. Stay tuned...