This summer that I made my first visit to the Evergreen State Fair. I’ve lived in Washington state for thirty years but just hadn’t managed to get to it. Fortunately, my wise friend David suggested that this might be a fun expedition for our families. It turned out to be a wonderful day full of animals, small donuts, and fun. The comedy team of Ball and Hendow was expanded to a rapid-fire improv troupe including wives and children. Definitely a good day at the fair.
This fair has the classic vibe one would expect… it has the exhibition halls full of animals, a large equestrian arena, race track for sprint cars, rides, midway, delicious unhealthy food and (to Teri’s delight) pig races. This was a wonderful day and I’m delighted that we went.
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There is a special bond that happens between musicians who play together regularly. I imagine it’s similar with sports teams, although I’ve never really been part of one. I keep score and statistics for my wife’s softball team, and while recognize this provides meaningful active support to the team, it’s not the same as being on the field. When the game is over and we all head out for beers and burgers, it’s the players that celebrate / recount / analyze their game. I don’t feel excluded from the conversation (I am happy to participate in pretty much any conversation as long as I don’t feel I’m intruding); there is a simply a different relationship between the on-field players.
It’s the same within a band. The experience of practicing and playing together is a process of fusion for the individuals who share that adventure. Backstage between sets or after the show, we are joined by kind people who are our friends / spouses / supporters. Their experience of the night’s proceedings often differ from those of the band. Most of the time I feel pretty happy and positive after shows; I am lucky to play with good musicians and we generally have good communication via our instruments. We get feedback from listeners and observers, and it’s important to know how the event seemed to those in attendance, but the performers have an intensely personal connection to the actual event.
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This past weekend I had breakfast with my best friend from high school. It was the first time we’ve managed to get together in over 20 years, although we’ve stayed in touch via mail and email. The group in attendance for breakfast included my friend + wife and his brother + wife; all four of whom attended high school with me and were good friends as well. They also brought along a sampling of children from their mutual collection, who were a delight to meet. My wife got to finally put some faces on the names from my circle of friends, which was fun.
It’s amazing how much and how little changes over time. We all look more or less as we used to… a bit of gray hair on the men, but overall we’re the same guys. We’re definitely taken different roads over the years, and perhaps that was the most interesting aspect of our breakfast discussion… sharing the stories of adventures and recounting our careers and hobbies. Many of our mutual friends are still in the area, although most have drifted apart over the years and are no longer on our radar.
I don’t find myself looking back at my high school years with a great deal of longing to revisit those times. I was happy and felt socially connected in high school, but don’t feel strongly compelled to recreate those times.
What I do feel is a strong sense of connection to my good friend and his family. It makes me very thankful for the great bond that we have shared over the years, and for the gift of their friendship.
Last night we went to see Walking With Dinosaurs – The Live Experience which is a BBC-produced dinosaur show currently on tour. The performance took place in the Tacoma Dome, with the dinosaurs on the floor and the audience seated in the typical bleacher configuration. I was impressed with the fluid locomotion and very convincing body movements of the dinos. Naturally, the stars of the show are those which are biggest and most toothsome, with the T. Rex saved for the grand finale.
Easily 30% of the audience was children under the age of 12. As a dino geek, I was delighted to hear so many children correctly identifying the dinosaurs by name and pronouncing the names correctly. Also amusing was hearing the dialog behind me, in which a father said “…look, there’s a brontosaurus!” and his daughter said “…no dad, that’s a brachiosaur”. She even knew that the creature once known as a brontosaur was merely a misidentified brachiosaur fossil. Hooray for young dino geeks!
I think most people have seen some of the modern CGI representations of dinosaurs, which provides good context and some sense of scale. But seeing them “live” with a human guide walking among them, it’s easier to understand how immensely large some of the dinosaurs were. When the T. Rex made its final circuit of the floor, it paused at each of the main seating areas to rear up to full height and roar menacingly. I have to admit it was thrilling. Overall I’d say it’s worth seeing.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Libra. Or maybe I just never grew out of being a boy scout. Or maybe I’m just an idealist. Whatever it is, I place an enormously high value on truth and integrity. It seems like such a simple and obvious interaction style that I take it for granted in most cases, which means I am occasionally blindsided.
Today is one of those days. I find myself attempting to reconcile my rosy view of the world with the un-rosy reality that sometimes people don’t remember their agreements.
Did I miss something? Did I make an assumption? Was there a gap in communication?
I try not to speculate about intent, and not to ascribe malice to a situation where miscommunication might have occured. So I don’t know if I have learned something today or not.
Tonight I managed to get in a double-workout, in anticipation of spending the next few days out of town. I figured it would be a good idea to do multiple muscle groups to make sure I finish my workout plan for the week. What I didn’t count on was being so universally sore… man I’m moving slow tonight. However, I did hit a nice milestone; I maxed out the weight range on the Bowflex dumbells on one exercise, so now I’ll start using the big macho chrome ones. It’ll be fun next week to get back to it. It’s surprising how quickly I became a daily workout convert and advocate… my friends and co-workers are generously tolerant of my regular “get thee to a gym” encouragement. Until three months ago I probably hadn’t been in a weight room more than a dozen times. Now I spend five days a week there, and find it strangely satisfying. As cults go, this one seems pretty good so far.
As part of the Florida trip, we spent a little time visiting two of the Disney World parks: The Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios. They both have charm and plenty of fun. The Magic Kingdom is a pretty large park and was very crowded. We arrived early enough to get a few rides in before the long lines formed. By the end of the day, we had hit a number of the prime attractions: Space Mountain (twice), Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Mad Tea Party, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Enchanted Tiki Room (naturally!), Stitch’s Great Escape, The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm, The Jungle Cruise and the Hall of Presidents. Much to my dismay, the Haunted Mansion was closed for renovation. We did stay for the obligatory night time parade and fireworks, followed by the mass park exodus tourist stampede.
Regardless of what anyone may way, the Magic Kingdom is really fabulous and a lot of fun. It would impossible to thoroughly explore this place in a single day. The lines are pretty well managed, and the longest we waited for anything was our second run on Space Mountain, which involved about 80 minutes of standing around. The Disney “fast pass” system is great, and it saved us hours that would have been spent in line.
The next morning we made our way over to Disney-MGM Studios. Owing to some clever planning and the use of the “fast pass” system, We did the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster (twice), the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (twice), Star Tours, the Journey into Narnia backlot tour, and then left to catch our flight home. The Tower of Terror was the best ride of the trip.
Last weekend we undertook a little vacation to Florida to attend a wedding, but we also did some tourist activities including a visit to Gatorland. It’s a 110 acre park with innumerable birds, thousands of crocodiles and alligators, a few snakes, scorpions, turtles and a bear. I found it to be a satisfying and interesting place to visit, and even managed to wrestle an alligator (which sounds much more daring than it actually is). Everyone at the park seemed to really enjoy the attractions. Disney World and the other theme parks are more spectacular in terms of production, but there is something undeniably fascinating about seeing live animals in a natural setting. Especially when the animals are large, scaly, and have sharp nasty pointy teeth.
Read the rest of this article for more pictures.
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“Hey what’s that?” was how it began. My friend (and fellow Preon) Brad was sporting a cool new backpack today. It turned out to be a very interesting and well-designed LowePro camera bag. It hangs like an ergonomic messenger bag across the body, and with a quick movement, slides around the front to sit horizontally. This model is called the “Slingshot” and it certainly fits. Brad happens to have the same model camera as I do, so it’s clear this is a good fit. he bought it as a local camera store yesterday. Fifteen minutes later we were headed down to that same camera store so I get buy one as well. It’s the perfect size for traveling with my camera, and one of the really nice benefits of this design is that it doesn’t look like a camera bag. To the casual observer, this is just a small daypack, which is hugely important for security.
No wonder Digital Photo named it “best camera accessory” in their Practical Photography Gear of the Year issue.
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My only pet is a domestic reptile. Basil is a Colombian Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria maurus). Like most adult Colombian Rainbow Boas, Basil is medium in size (about 6 feet), and brown in color with circles and spots. His smooth scales are iridescent and refract light into beautiful colors like a fish lure. As snakes go, this boa is even tempered and easy to care for. They like humidity and are good climbers. Basil spends a lot of time either coiled up in his water bowl or scaling the bamboo branches inside his hutch. I also let him swim in the bathtub once in a while, much to the alarm of unsuspecting house guests.
Colombian Rainbow Boas are oviviparous, so the eggs hatch inside the female. I witnessed his first feeding at the breeder’s store shortly after he was born in 1994, and took him home about two weeks later. He’s a permanent guest of honor in our Tiki Lounge.
