In Ted’s recent collage of banner photos, the kangaroo banner is one of my favorites. There is one (which I’ve highlighted below) that looks a lot like Clyde in the front yard, doing his business, and looking over his shoulder to see if anyone is watching.
I’ll see if I can sneak a photo of him for a side-by-side comparison.
I took a couple days off work to coincide with the girls’ four day weekend. The girls and I went to Harland to have lunch, and they both helped with a yo-yo project. I brought a paint brush and smock so that Kelly could pose in front of the photo of Claire on the wall. Isn’t Kelly a good sport?
I forgot to mention that Mary Claire kicked off our busy Birthday Blitz weekend last week with an outstanding softball outing. Both she and Kelly have joined church league teams and have been having a lot of fun learning how to hit, catch, throw, and run.
Claire was excited because she had been selected to play first base for the game (the base where most of the action is.) She played the position well, stretching to make several catches and outs at first.
Claire ended up being the best hitter on her team, often getting it out of the infield (which is rare with the elementry school team and their extra-soft softball.) She batted clean up last Friday. Two girls were on when she got up to bat the first time. Claire smacked it over the shortstop’s head, and the ball rolled past the outfielder. Claire was able to speed around the bases for an in-the-park homer with three RBIs. At her next at bat, the bases were loaded. She repeated a hit to left field, but this time the outfielder got to the ball and threw it in. Unfortunately, for the other team, two throws missed their mark, and the ever-aggressive base runner, Claire, was able to round all the bases for an in-the-park Grand Slam.
Her big brother would have been proud. We sure were.
Kathy and I had a tripple birthday blitz over the weekend that included John P’s 40th Friday night at Sampan downtown, Kathy’s birthday at Dominick’s in Norcross on Saturday, and East West Bistro for Nicole’s birthday in Athens on Sunday. In between we got in soccer games, Kelly’s All State chorus audition, and RCIA class. I was just able to squeeze in a lawn mowing in between all the coming and going. I’m not sure we have ever eaten out three days in a row. We can highly recommend all three restaurants. Dominick’s in Norcross is probably the best family experience, especially if the family enjoys Italian food and collaborative table-coloring of bizzaro stick figures.
Happy Birthday Kathy, Nicole, and John P!
“Who is Jim Brown?” Kelly asked while she was doing homework at the kitchen table. She was working on topographical maps. She needed to create a diagonal line across the middle of the island she had drawn to create a profile.
“Do you mean James Brown?” I asked, thinking she meant the singer.
“No, Jim Brown,” she said. “It is carved in this metal ruler.”
I looked at the ruler, and realized it was the ruler that was in the desk drawer when I started at Harland in 1987. Jim Brown had left the company, creating a vacancy that I filled. It wasn’t really Jim Brown’s ruler, but rather Harland’s ruler that Jim Brown used. In one of my office moves, the metal ruler ended up at home. We don’t use rulers anymore, since most design occurs on a screen. And we never draw topographical maps with pencil and graph paper. I’m sure Kelly will never have a job that requires her to do that, but at least she will understand the concept. And Jim Brown’s ruler helped.
Thanks Jim (whom I never met), wherever you are….
Oh… I also ran into ex-Harlander and leader Earl Rogers at work today, which triggered a whole set of memories. Earl was very influential in my career. Also ran into still-Harlander Ralph Crane… who also ran into Earl. Something of a nostalgia day at Harland.
