Premature Baldness

Yep I'm talking about hair now! Or at least the lack of it. Last Sunday my wife was out of town for Father's day. None of my children recognized this event until they went to church and it was announced from the pulpit. Feeling sorry for myself I thought I need to do something just for me, and so I did. I shaved my head! Bic'd it to the skin in fact.

You probably are thinking why bother shaving it as it will soon fall out anyways, or turn grey and look like its gone but I like to think that I'm in control of something in my life. I actually like shaved heads, less to worry about in the morning, never have to carry a comb or brush anywhere. Its a live much less hectic. My kids all think that it looks good too! Anything would be an improvement on my ugly mug. The real reason I didn't do it before is my wife!

Marlene just never thought she would be married to a bald man. She just can't get over the feeling of a clean shaved head on the man she married. So with her gone on Father's day it was the perfect setting to get it done. So if anyone has some good tips for keeping the baldness beautiful I'm all ears, really "all ears".

To Pool or not to Pool

I grew up looking forward to having the opportunity to swim. When I was young my parents joined a swim club at a local pool so we would have someplace to go in the hot summers. When we moved back to Vegas after graduation all I could think about is some day having my own pool. I imagined sitting on a lounge chair or floating on a raft, drinking a cold drink, sunglasses on reading a book. That would be the life! Even in our previous house I saw our neighbor Bob constantly cleaning his pool and thought that's just the type of guy Bob is, always working. Now I have our pool and because of tight economic times and a son on a mission I'm in charge of cleaning and maintenance of our pool. Now my eyes are open and I see the pool for what it truly is.... a whole in the water that we throw money and time. Cleaning the pool takes hours, the pine trees that bring us so much shade are deadly to pool filters. It only takes a few needles to block the filter and reduce the pumps ability to recirculate the water. Vacuuming takes time as the lines clog quickly and the filters need to be cleaned after every sweep. Getting the proper chemistry is like hitting the lottery, either the chlorine burns the skins and gives everyone itchy skin or yellow fungus grows like cave stalactites. The water valve sticks for no reason and some mornings the pool is overfilled or noticeably dropped. That all adds to huge water bills. By the time all the work is finished, no one wants to even be outside. It just becomes one huge life sucking hole. It follows the Vulcan logic of Spock: having a pool is never as good as wanting a pool. Just live long and prosper.

Blindsided at the movies

I do like movies, but I hate paying full price for them especially when they they come out on DVD within 6-8 months after release. It is great to see a film on the big screen though, beats the television, especially the night scenes ( they don't show up real well on our screen, everything looks black and I have to guess whats happening). Friday afternoon all the kids were off school and I came home from work to have Marlene ask me to go to a matinee. Less money, big screen, sounds good. We watched Blindsided with Sandra Bullock. Its a story about a young man that is huge but homeless. He gets into a private Christian academy across town from where he grew up with the hope that he could play athletics there. He has poor grades, two pairs of clothes, and sleeps in a laundromat. He doesn't fit in there and other then one teacher everyone thinks he's out of place. He befriends a younger white kid whose Mother is touched by what she sees. She invites him to their home for Thanksgiving and ends up becoming his legal guardian. The story is true, the boy is Michael Oher, the left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. Its title is suppose to relate to the fact that the left tackle is usually responsible for protecting the quarterbacks blind side. The story actually does the blindsiding, so nice to see some people out there willing to sacrifice and love one another. Its my favorite now. Well worth watching no matter where. I'd pay to see it again, and will buy it when it comes out.