The Aerie
[1][PB280010.JPG] For an ordinary person, this would have been a nice
weekend. An ordinary person. But for an unreconstructed workaholic,
why it's just been one delay after another. First, of course, there
was Thanksgiving. A day of cleaning followed by a night of bingeing.
What an inconvenience! I spent hours enjoying myself on Thursday that
I could have used for work!
[2][PB290094.JPG] After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and a day of
rest (i.e. work!), the next day we took the kids to the Holidazzle
parade. Holidazzle is a small downtown parade, held every evening
between Thanksgiving and New Years in downtown Minneapolis. It's
sponsored by downtown businesses to promote local shopping, and at
first that set off my Crass-O-Meter(TM), but then I remembered. I
remembered that the family went to just such a parade in "[3]A
Christmas Story." So that makes it okay.
[4][PB290095.JPG] And of course, everytime I think I'm jaded, I
remember that Santa wears red and white because he's advertising Coca
Cola.
Yes, I've said that elsewhere. Actually I say that pretty much every
year. Maybe someday I'll get over it, but it was quite a shock. Almost
like having someone tell you Santa's not real (the liars!)
So only in Minnesota would a bunch of people gather outside in the
dark in the winter for a parade. Okay, okay, "get over yourselves" as
Simone told me in a completely different context last weekend: lots of
places have cold weather parades. Still, it seems kind of silly.
[5][PB290088.JPG] Saturday's parade wasn't the worst weather. Actually
it was pretty mild, except for the WIND. Oy, the wind was NUTS. But
other years, it's been below zero, or with a couple of inches of snow.
Not that we go every year!
This year one of the sponsors (Marshall Fields, a subsidiary of the
Target corporation as is the rest of Minnesota), introduced their
latest annual Santa Bear. Past years there have been the usual
variations: Christmas Santa Bear, Doctor Santa Bear, Policeman Santa
Bear, Mrs. Santa Bear, S&M Santa Bear, etc.
But this year it's the inevitable consequence of all these hot bears:
cubs. Cute "fraternal twin" cubs. The envy of everybody who has no
idea what twins are like.
[6][PC010005.JPG] Speaking as the father of fraternal twins, all I can
say is that the bears in the picture lack one essential element: deep
dark rings under their eyes. I love my twins, but they're much more
like climbing a mountain than strolling in the park: rewarding,
lovely, but tons of work!
Anyway, after last night's parade, today was the piano recital. The
three of them did a really good job. My eldest boy was particularly
good with the theme from Star Wars, and my youngest with something
called 'Sonatina', which he played with amazing speed and dexterity.
My daughter did well, too, but was scheduled to go first, so she
seemed to suffer from a little case of nerves.
As an unreconstructed workaholic, terribly frustrating. As a dad and a
real-live person, tons of fun!
[7]Last
Posted by Albatross at December 1, 2002 12:00 AM