We have had numerous requests to put additional soft seating in the shop. I refuse to put upholstered furniture in there, as it would be a nightmare to keep clean. The only thing I'm willing to use is leather... Tracy and I went out Friday night looking for a deal. We found a beautiful leather loveseat that was on sale. The store had sold the associated leather couch, and the loveseat was a left over with no matching furniture. We got it for 45% off normal asking price (we paid $450 for it). I'll take a photo and post it soon...
So, what do you do when your 10 year old boy asks if he can go to his friends air soft gun party on the last day of school? The parent in you says "Are you crazy? You'll shoot your eye out." The boy deep within my soul (well, ok, not so deep, really) says "Cool, I'm going to get me an airsoft gun too!" When I was not much older, my friends and I had bb gun fights (yes, with real metal bb's, not soft plastic airsoft guns). We had a blast until the kid up the street lost his front teeth to a well placed shot (not by me, thankfully). Boys have to be boys, or they wind up growing into teenage pansies... So, I stopped by Walmart on my way home today to get Josh some airsoft ammo for his gun, and I bought him a paintball mask/helmet. It has form fitting goggles, so his eyes are completely protected, and it also has full head and face protection. I don't care if he has welts all over his body, arms and legs, as long as his head is safe.
We mostly hire young kids to work at Nemo's. We do quite a few interviews and I am very dismayed to see how many young men are not really men at all. There are far too many single moms raising boys with no significant influence from their dads (or couples who just don't let their boys be boys). I don't recall having so many prima donna, wanna-be-girl young men in the world. Maybe I am way off base here, but I don't think so. Boys need to be allowed to get dirty, to bust their knuckles, smash their fingers, skin their knees, and get splinters doing all kinds of boy-things that aren't quite safe. They need to sword fight, smash ants, throw rocks, crash their bikes, build a fort, smack their elbows, push each other down, argue a little, fall off the porch, go down the slide on their stomachs, get the wind knocked out of them, get hit in the face with a basketball, and maybe, just maybe, have Twinkies for breakfast once in a great while (as long as Mom doesn't know). Life can't be all about not getting your clothes dirty, going to Chuckee Cheese, and having a muffin and hot chocolate at Starbucks for breakfast.
The first tooth Josh lost was because Jonah kicked him in the mouth doing tykwondo. It wasn't even loose yet! He was probably still a year away from getting loose teeth. I have rough-housed, wrestled, and traded punches with all three of the boys since they were barely able to walk. I don't let them throw wild, weak, easy to block punches, either. I taught them how to step into it, to come straight from the shoulder with lots of speed and 'snap', and to aim for an imaginary target two or three inches behind the real target. For every boy, there is always a day when they have their first fight. There is always a kid at school or in the neighborhood who picks on them, or on their little brother. When that day comes for my kids, they are going to be ready. I talk to them about it, and I have prepared them for it. They all know that I expect them to look out for each other, to watch each others' backs. Nobody taught me to fight and as a result, I was more or less terrified whenever someone acted aggressive towards me. I eventually figured it out, but I went through a lot of years being tormented first. My kids all know how to throw a punch, and more importantly, they know how to take a punch. They hit each other in the face hard enough to make most kids cry, and they just giggle at each other. Maybe that is just a natural thing for three brothers, but regardless of the reasons for it, they are tough. I think it is a dis-service to let boys grow up without doing all of these dirty, rough, gross, just-on-the-edge-of-safe kinds of things. And, yes, we go through a lot of band-aids.
Gotta run...
Take care,
JD
You didn't really think you would get out of here without a few photos to encourage and praise our troops, did you? Here are some recent photos to inspire you to go hug a soldier! Click on any image to see a larger version:
A US Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit dodges bullets after Taliban fighters opened fire near Garmser in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on May 18, 2008. The Marine was not injured.
U.S. Marines with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaisance Battalion (2d LAR) post security for over positions at the Task Force Mech assembly area on May 1, 2008. Task Force Mech, Ground Combat Element, Multi National Force - West is conducting operations along the northern boundary of Al Anbar province in support of Operation Defeat Al Qaeda in the North.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo/Photographer: Sgt. Jason W. Fudge)
U.S. Marine Sgt. Michael J. Beaver, Task Force Mech Operations Chief with Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (2d LAR), provides over watch security in Salah Ad Din, Iraq on May 1. Task Force Mech, Ground Combat Element, Multi National Force - West is conducting operations along the northern boundary of Al Anbar Providence in support of Operation Defeat Al Qaida in the North.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo/Photographer: Sgt. Jason W. Fudge)
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Deputy Director of the foreign affairs office of China's National Defense Ministry Guan Youfei, right, expresses gratitude for the U.S. emergent humanitarian aid to an unidentified officer from the U.S. Air Force 204th Airlift Squadron at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Sunday, May 18, 2008. Disaster-relief supplies worth of US$700,000 from the United States Army, the first of its kind from a foreign military, arrived here Sunday.
Specialist Chris Nelson from 101st Airborne Division, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion,4th Platoon fires his weapon on enemy forces May 18, 2008 after U.S. troops and Afghan National Police were fired upon in Khost province, Afghanistan. Enemy forces opened fire on U.S. troops and Afghan National Police during a patrol when they had to return fire said Lieutenant Gabriel Stultz.
U.S. Air National Guard Maj. Troy Cullen and Maj. Anthony Davis prepare to land a C-17 Globemaster III at Chengdu Shuangliu International airport in China, May 18, 2008. The United States Pacific Command support of earthquake relief efforts was authorized by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in support of the U.S. State Department. The C-17 pilots are assigned to the Hawaii Air National Guard's 204th Airlift Squadron, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chris Vadnais
Former U.S. Army Special Forces member Paul McGowan drops into the opening ceremonies at the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., May 17, 2008. The three-day event coincides with the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. Defense Dept. photo by Fred W. Baker III
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 lands on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu. Peleliu is conducting operations in the Pacific Ocean on a scheduled deployment, May 15, 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Sarah E. Bitter
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