what happens if...

you door one of your heroes?

Last night after the girl's soccer game, we stopped at Schnucks for a bit o' dinner. I pulled into a primo parking spot (right by the "reserved for the cops" slot) and started getting out of the car. Nora, not wanting to wait for me in the car, got out too. She started opening her door but at the same time one of two the mu soccer players (dressed in black) was trying to get to her own door which was on the car next to ours. Nora about whacked her she didn't though. The player was polite and let Nora get out. Nora was speechless for a bit. "...did...did...you see...who that was?" Pretty cool.

no frozen toes

What the hell was that last post? Waste of digital space is what. Meanwhile life goes on and on. Bridget is in her 3rd week of work at the new job! Going well with few frustrations along the way getting settled into her position. I stayed home with Nora last week when there was no school because of the snow (if you blinked you missed it) and then she got sick on Friday. Of course it was friday when she got sick, always does. And of course we should have gone to the doctor on Friday but I thought, maybe she'll get over it quickly...she didn't Sunday at 10am she still wasn't well so I took her into Urgent Care. Urgent Care, of course, costs 2x as much as a regular visit, and it turns out she had strep. Should've gone in Friday. Didn't feel well myself all weekend and that combined with taking Nora in kept me from even watching Froze Toes. So now with that out of the way, I have 7 months to build up to 'cross season. Normally of course running is required in cx but since I can't run, my dismounts will have to be slower and i will step over the barriers instead of jumping. All this means I will have to be faster on the bike. Actually maybe by then I'll be able to jog slowly and even if I can't I'll have to work on my dis- and re-mounts so I don't lose anytime there.

workaday

My wife now has a job! She starts Feb. 11th at the ARC. Big changes in store for the entire family. Before and after school care, Soccer camp, lacrosse camp, day camp, summer camp anything to keep the kids occupied while the parents are at the

recent activities

Walked 8 miles on the MKT.

Went to St. Louis for work and took the kids.

Watched Nora perform with her school choir at her teacher's wedding.


Survived the first ice storm of the season.

i heart crazy fun but not in the rain

Spent Saturday in the rain with Sam but not Dr. H-V.

life

It's been a while since I wrote.
Here's a summary:
Work, eat, bike, disc golf, watch soccer. And celebrated our 16th anniversary Aug. 31. 16 years wow! THe kids stayed with a friend while we ate at Sycamore, and the Upper Crust. MMmmmm good! Especially the dessert at Upper Crust. We even got a hotel room over night.

Big news this week of course...one more day of work and then I am outta here. Tuesday a.m. road trip to KC for the first stage of ToM. I think I'll stay overnight in KC with my inlaws before heading to the start of Stage 2 in Clinton on Wednesday. Maybe I'll have pictures next time.

tuesday nite ride

Last night was the Brendaville Cycling Team's first training ride. All went really well. Sam, Jordan, Steve and I rode up to Jason's house (we're an inter-'hood team) picked him up and rode to Grindstone where we hopped on the trail and rode it to McBaine. I had never ridden with Jason before but he is a strong cyclist. He is only 12 and rode a bike that was a bit small for him. If he had a bike that fit him with larger wheels he would have hammered Sam and Jordan. We all were tired and hungry by the time we returned but it was a satisfying ride for sure. I hope this was just the first of a long series of rides.

When we stopped at McBaine we met up with some people from Pennsylvania who were riding the length of the trail from St. Louis. They were loaded down with camping gear but wanted to head to Columbia for a bed rather than a sleeping bag. So we escorted them into town. Evidently they have done several different rails-to-trails trips around the country. Sounds like a great adventure and a great way to take a bike trip. There is one along the Erie Canal they would like to do next. I would like to do that one too.

I am off to the Doc's this morning. I hope I get a big thumbs up. I am a bit nervous as I have ridden 5 days in a row now and have already had my biggest week this year with 84 miles and it's only Tuesday. I just hope my knee is not hurt by that. It's kinda sore and tender in the joint. But is has been before and only gotten stronger and better afterward.

of sheep

My entire family(3 brothers, their wives and children as well as my parents) all got together this weekend outside of Columbia. Friends of ours who live on a small farm went out of town so we took over for them and took care of their animals and garden in return for a place to stay. The weekend didn't start out terribly auspiciously and my career in livestock seemed blighted as I killed two chickens in the first day. I know it sounds terrible and it was. Evidently I didn't know how to operate the water dispenser correctly and on the hottest day of the year the "Meat" chickens (as opposed to the "Layers") ran out of water and two died from dehydration. After having my burying them (Sam and Nora dug the hole) I got a fresh start and didn't kill any more animals. Saturday night as I was closing up the barn, I looked into one of the stalls and saw a sheep and what I thought at first was a chicken. Turns out it was a newborn lamb, the speckled one in the picture above. I started hyperventilating and calling for my wife and as I did so I realized there was another even newer born lamb. Jesus! this wasn't supposed to happen for a nother couple of weeks. WIth the aid of my brothers, we spent the next four hours watching them, wiping them, sanitizing their umbilical cords, and trying to get the lambs to nurse. They didn't seem to know what to do. Or rather they knew what to do but for whatever reason couldn't. I called several veterinarians and finally was able to get a hold of one. True to James Herriot, when I called the vet it was near midnight on Saturday. Isn't that when all the calls in All Creatures Great and Small occured? The vet said that we could wait until morning and see how they were doing then. If they hadn't started nursing within 18 hours of birth then we would need to intervene. He asked if I could stick a tube down the lambs' throats. I wasn't sure about that and hoped it wouldn't come to that. I slept for a few hours then got up and checked on the lambs. Thank god they were still alive and even better were nursing and seemed to be doing well.

I think I could really get into the livestock thing.

Nora discovered fishing this weekend and after catching three fish now wants start fishing regularly. Sam enjoyed the fishing and swimming as well.

Sam started his new job at Shakes yesterday. He even made some tips while busing tables. I hope he enjoys the work and it is a good experience for him. And I hope he makes a wad a dough so he can pay for his trip to Europe next summer.

Nora power

From Friday's paper:

Gerik Parmele photo

Lee Elementary School third-grader Nora Hargett, center, leaves Flat Branch Park this morning with about 70 other bicyclists and walkers from the school after a free breakfast provided by Broadway Diner. Also participating are Kim Dill, far right, and Nora’s mother, Bridget Murphy, center left. This weekend is the conclusion of Bike, Walk and Wheel Week. Tomorrow’s events include a final rally with free food and music beginning at 2 p.m. at Stephens Lake Park. For a complete list of tomorrow’s activities, visit www.pednet.org.

That's my daughter! She says she'll never get a car.

things are starting to hit a little close to home

Crash kills 16-year-old boy

Horrible and awful. It's only a matter of time until I personally know one of these kids. Sam can start learning to drive next year and he is starting to know kids in high school. I don't think he knew this boy but Sam probably knows friends of his.

Nora says she is never getting a car. I'll buy Sam a Colnago, Felt or Madone 8.9slx or whatever it's called but not a damn car. One tin can death trap is enough. Look at that picture. I am scared and sad.

single moms: cutting edge capitalism

Here's an idea I have been kicking around for a while: marriage is revolutionary and rebellious. OK sounds ridiculous no? Especially when you have groups like Focus on the Family and other religious wingnuts emphasizing an exclusive and hateful version of marriage and family. My idea is that in a capitalist society such as ours marriage goes against the genius of the economy. In short, our extractive economy is creating havoc in our world and anthing that promises to reign that in is worth investigating.

Economics 101 the rev style:
Our affiliations used to be based on the tribe. Every woman who was your mother's age was called "auntie" and every old man was "grandpa." The word "affiliation" itself comes from the latin for "adopt like a son" so it has familial overtones. Our affiliations are becoming more and more fragmented.

After the tribe we separated into what used to be the extended family; father, mother, children grandchildren, perhaps a stray aunt or two. These folks all lived in the same household which was the basic unit of our economy. They shared space, and practically everything else; spoons, towels, toothbrushes. Not much was purchased on the market. With the rise of the market economy, everything changed. The "nuclear family" became the basic unit of our economy. Everyone was expected to strike out on their own and parents were to fend for themselves after the kids were gone. "Empty nest syndrome" is a recent phenomenon.

Now there is much gnashing of teeth and crying about the breakdown of the nuclear family but given our economic system we can't have it any other way. Our economy is premised on everyone buying as much stuff as they can. If I and my wife live together with two children do we really need two dishwashing machines? No. That reminds me, recently I saw ads trying to sell the idea that we all need two clothes dryers because drying takes much longer than washing clothes and it would be much more efficient if you could dry two loads at once. Perhaps we do need to clothes dryers. Does everyone really need their own lawnmower? Think about it. You only use it two hours a week, surely you could find a time to mow when your neighbor isn't and then share a mower.

I would expect that anything shared is not going to do well in our economy. Think of it. What is there that we share or use together freely that is doing well in our society? Monogamy? No! Polygamy? Not!, Mass transportation? Nope! Dormitories at colleges? Nadda! Even watching tv used to be a communal event but now everyone has their own television in their own room (see!).

Don't be surprised as this trend continues. Activities which used to be communal will become increasingly segregated and personal. Look at the death of the metanarratives. Let's take religion. The current trend in the christian religion is for everyone to find and meet their own "personal Jesus." It's no coincidence that the Reformation with it's corresponding individual interpretations of the Bible occured at the same time as the rise of market capitalism. So much for the Catholic (Universal) church. But what about the rise of fundamentalist religions? This is simply an understandable reaction against the disorienting effects of everyday realities. Look at this whole blog entry. It's a fundamentalist reaction too. Just not a religious one. (Oh for the days of the grand marxist metanarrative).

Sharing is the antithesis of capitalism
- if you are to do to do your part for the economy you would: marry, have kids, divorce, and purchase separately outfitted (new) houses. Two of everything for the kids as well. Heck it would be even better if you did that two or three times.
- this is part of the reason why kids who live at home after adolescence are cause for much concern these days. They don't buy stuff. But on second thought, perhaps they are there because that enables them to buy more than they would otherwise. If housing is taken care of then the obstinate son has that much more money to spend on non-durable items such as video games and pizza.

N.B. When I mean marriage I don't mean that hateful constitutional definition "one man, one woman." For this hypothesis, it is unimportant who or for that matter what you marry. As long as the two individuals (of adult status) care for each other or are willing to care for each other I think it's great.

Interestingly, interspecies marriage was legal for a bit here in Missouri where a man married his horse (pun intended).

The longer I write the more I realize that none of this is particularly original but I wanted to say it anyway.

Nora is cool!

Nora playing a short piece she composed.

4 weeks down...two to go!

Needless to say the closest I have been to a bicycle lately is watching the Tom Boonen win the Tour of Flanders on dvd.

I have been somewhat disturbed (but not surprised) by my complete adaptation to being cooped up in the house and on the couch for the past 4 weeks. I seem to be perfectly content to lay on my couch watching television and reading. "Made for TV" you might say. Nevertheless I am looking forward to the day I can move about again without crutches. The ability to carry a plate of food from the kitchen to, say, the couch is something I will never take for granted again. If I knew this injury was permanent I might be more freaked, that is for sure.

Just last night I was laying on the couch with my knee in the CPM last night thinking that even if I don't ever regain use of my leg and lose my job and house and have to go on welfare I would feel really happy because I have such a great family. My kids are the greatest and I know that when they grow up and are rich and famous they will take their ol' Da and Mum in off the street.