Stadtluft macht frei

Yesterday in the waning light of the evening, Ethan and I went for a little walk. It involved a little of the golf course, because it is hard to walk anywhere around here and not get on the course. Not surprisingly, we found a golf ball or two. It got me to thinking about how this golf ball ended up where we found it, all alone, neglected. I think the easy answer is that the golfer lost sight of their ball, so gave up on looking for it and simply pulled another one out of their bag. But some seemed in such plain sight, it was hard to imagine how little effort was put into searching for the lost ball. Remember, I'm rolling along in my chair - not exactly in places hard to get to. So then scenarios popped up. The ball could have been thrown into its present position by someone who found the ball when it was in a place the golfer could not get to. Maybe the golfer got frustrated by their last shot and threw the ball themselves. It would be nice to see the scenario that got that ball where it lay. My curiosity is sparked in strange ways.
On our walk, Ethan noticed that the golfers shoes had made a sand trap dirty. So he was compelled to rake out the sand trap. He noticed the dirty sand trap after getting one of the golf balls and putting it into the goal.
Ethan was looking forward to seeing his aunt Laura and uncle Dan. He had to clarify that this was the aunt who used the phrase pumpkin pie as a phrase of endearment. It is funny to hear him try on a southern accent. We did not have any real special plans, unless you call red beans and rice, and shrimp grits not special. We had a good time visiting.
We still go to the pool often. Riles is trying out the crawl and backstroke. And they both are getting good at diving for the toypedoes into the 5ft deep water. Riles is hesitant to do some jumps off the side of the pool, because she does not want to hurt her face - which is good. Ethan brings his life jacket now and then, but I think it is his "magic feather", or security blanket.
While Dan and Laura were up in Canada at a wedding for one of Dan's high school buds, I was on a ride with some guys from Montana. Friday afternoon, we rode from Mullan to Kellogg. Saturday, Kellogg to Harrison. Sunday, Higgins point, to River Stone in Coeur d'Alene. It is always fun to go on rides with others, especially when they are on the same bikes as you. Riding through Kellogg, and Wallace, you see what mining brought. Towns developed to support the amount of people who came to work the mines. Now those towns are a fraction of what they originally once were. It makes me think of tools, and machinery, and careers. I don't know what the mining industry is like, but the tools that are displayed throughout the towns gives me a glimpse. From the examples of recreation, it appears the work day was long and labor intensive for the average worker. It seems their off time was spent in leisure activities involving as little physical activity as possible. These guys were worn out. This is how it appears to me, at least for the way it was. I think our inventions have decreased the need for a large work force, and so, the towns I was riding through can not support the population they once did. Now, we have more jobs where people sit at desks. Phone calls made to coordinate. Juggling numbers, and schedules. So now, for recreation we look to physical activity (at least a number of us). Water skiing, and snow, riding bikes on bike trails through mountain towns. We even have races where we exhaust ourselves: marathons, triathlons. I wonder if the miners then would look at us like we were crazy.

14 hour day

I'm just a child my life is still before me. I just cant wait to see what God has for me, and so on. Sounds awesome at 33 rpm. (It was a 45 right?) ....but Fox in Sox was best at 78? Did we have that option?

The dreams I once had, now lay in bed. (I just want to mention a dream I had, because it was a little out of the ordinary) I had a real dream the other night. It was one of those where the parameters are based in reality. In contrast, last night, I dreamt I was either with or one of the characters in Pirates of the Caribbean (Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp). We were traveling around, sometimes floating, sometimes walking, struggling over Johny's heart in a lantern at the end of a..., like 50' chain. Conversations were not restrained by having to form words, rather there seemed to be more of a telepathic nature to communication. This describes the parameters of most of my dreams. My "real" dream was much more ..."grounded". OK, I was playing soccer with the US national team and we were playing Australia. Sounds pretty grounded right? Oh, and I was running. That is: no chair. So it was not real real, still all the other laws of nature seemed to be in place. I had to move my lips to speak, I had to run, I over ran the ball a couple times and characters remained who they were throughout -nobody morphed into a cat, or some other person. I could even smell the grass. The best part was that I was making mistakes, and it was OK. In other words, I was human. I was not superman. I got tired when I sprinted. My ball handling skills were....maybe a little elevated, but within the realm of reality. I was simply enjoying running around, a part of the game. And then I started getting those "replay" scenarios, and I knew I was waking up. No matter how hard I tried, I woke up. dang. -Not the best way to start a day, mad that I had to wake up.

This endless crutch is never enough.

We have been keeping a rigorous schedule involving the pool....and the pool, and the pool every day. Rileigh's little head-to-concrete episode has not slowed her. These guys are doing well in the pool, and are getting quite confident throughout the 6ft(deepest end) pool. Mostly, they dive for the toypedo's, and they love to race either me or each other for them. In addition, Riles enjoys yelling "cannonball", while she jumps in doing her best cannonball. So far they have met quite a few people at the pool. I would like them to learn a little more about personal space, but it is nice to see them getting to know the neighbors. That and the neighbors seem to be OK with 5 yr olds getting in their space.

We have yet to remove the training wheels, but I think it is only a matter of time. They ride to the pool nearly all the time. Sometimes though, Riles has learned that Mom shows up while we are there. If Sarah drives(which she has done lately because waddling that far is taxing), then it is easier to catch a ride home if there is no bike to load into the van.
Ethan looks forward to the times when I am left with them. He registers these times as video games times. Lego Star Wars I and II are his favorites, followed by Lightning McQueen.

Still don't know when it is eight bells. It should not matter with length of day, but I think it does with us.