Cows At Night

Most people have at least one thing that creeps them out. Something that, when thought about or confronted with, raises the hair on the neck and makes the heart skip a beat. Or several beats.

For me, it’s rather weird and obscure- it’s a scene in a movie that I couldn’t finish, and the few seconds I watched it has stuck with me the years that have gone by since I saw it.

It really freaked me out. In the movie “Ghost Ship” there is a scene where the crew and passengers are on the deck of a cruise ship enjoying a starry night and dancing while the ship’s orchestra plays on. A steel cable on the ship snaps and whips across the deck at an amazing speed, slicing each passenger in half at about waist level in an instant. The orchestra slowly stops playing as each passenger’s upper half slides off their lower half and drops to the ground with a thud. Their legs stand a moment longer and then crumple to the ground.

Ugh.

Guillotines freak me out too. It’s the whole “hey, my head or upper torso just got separated from the rest of my body..crap…what am I going to do now?” thing. Its freaking me out even now….I have to stop for a bit…I will be back shortly to finish this.

I’m back. So, anyway, my wife Michelle has her own thing that freaks her out. While spiders and other creepy crawlies (including field mice that find their way into our house) scare her, the thing that FREAKS HER OUT are cows. In fields. In the dark.

We live in an area with large properties, horse farms and pastures filled with bovine characters of every stripe and color. At night, as we drive the rolling winding roads our headlights occasionally light up a portion of a pitch black field…and there…starting ominously at us like they’ve been waiting for us all night…are…..cows.

I like to flash the high-beams and point out various patches of cows to Michelle as we drive. She doesn’t appreciate it.

She can’t really explain why it freaks her out… she quite loves cows during the day. She has always been partial to them, and even slows down to a near stop while driving the roads (IN THE DAYLIGHT ONLY) to "ooh" and "aaah" at the newly born calves that hobble along next to their mothers. But at night, they transform into the creatures of her darkest nightmares.

What freaks you out?

Volleyball Game

Last night girl #2, L, started her volleyball career. Even though she is only in 6th grade, she made the A team (7th and 8th grade team) and got her playing time a few minutes into the first of two games.

She was so nervous yesterday before the game she thought she was going to throw up- just like she felt before the first fast pitch softball game she pitched this past spring.

It’s so easy to get worked up before the big…game, meeting, project, anything where others are counting on our performance. I had something similar a few weeks ago where I had to be “on” in a big way, and it was killing me. Then, once it started, it flowed naturally- I had been thinking about it and working on the project for some time, and the practice paid off.

I told that to L, and asked about how she felt during the game- certainly once it started and she made her first few serves (she made all her serves over the net last night) and big plays her nerves settled and she had a great time…right? Nope. She felt like she was going to throw up the entire game.

Walgreens Stalker

When I was in high school I had a math teacher that allowed his students to raise the grade of one test each semester, by one grade level, if we brought him home-made chocolate chip cookies. He encouraged us to understand the value of each test, what our grade average was currently, and the impact of raising the grade by one level for each particular test to find the best time to bring him cookies. We thought it was a bribe. He was actually teaching us math the whole time.

Last night I had to go to Walgreens and buy a box of staples. There is a connection here…stay with me. My daughter K told me that one of her teachers told the class he was short on staples, and anyone that brought him a box of staples would get 10 bonus points. I found this both interesting and disturbing. Needing chocolate chip cookies I get…being a teacher at a school in one of the wealthiest counties in the US and needing students to bring in staples I don’t get. But hey, 10 bonus points for K’s GPA. I’m in.

I headed out to Walgreens about 8PM last night and arrived in the parking lot about 15 minutes later. I pulled into a parking space right next to another car. As I got out I glanced at my parking lot neighbor, a mom and her young son, who looked at me warily. I don’t blame her- she was vulnerable right next to me in a surprisingly dark parking lot as she was getting her young son out of her car. I followed her into Walgreens. Not purposely- she just happened to be right in front of me and we walked in together.

She of course headed right to the school supplies aisle. I followed her. She stopped a few feet into the aisle and was looking at the school supplies right where the staples were. I waited near her. She glanced at me a couple of time and I smiled. She didn’t. She seemed very nervous and concerned with my continued presence, especially after I snapped the picture of her shown above. She moved on down the aisle while I grabbed the staples and headed a few aisles over to get bread for Michelle. After that I went an aisle over to grab the obligatory Starbucks Coffee Frap (a Walgreens ritual for me). She was there. Getting a gallon of milk. She looked at me again and I smiled. She didn’t. She left and disappeared around the next aisle and I headed to check-out.

Of course the mom and her kid popped out from an aisle in front of me and walked towards the cash register too. As she approached, she turned and saw me. I ended up right behind her in line. After I paid I headed out to the parking lot just as the lady got into her car. She pulled out as I started my car, and I assume she breathed a sigh of relief. I pulled out from the Walgreens parking lot and of course she turned right- that was my way home. I turned behind her and we both stopped at the traffic light on Downs Boulevard in Franklin. She was turning left…and so was I.

We both traveled down the road towards a relatively lightly populated part of the county where I live. It’s a long drive down route 96 west, and off we went, the nice lady, her son, and me. Miles went by. I was thinking that this lady certainly must think I’m a nutcase stalker out to get her, and I hoped she turned left into Westhaven- the last development in the area- so I could cruise on by her. Nope. She continued on and so did I. Several miles later as we approached my turn off she put her blinker on to turn left. I did too. She slowed down noticeably and turned her blinker off. She then put it back on, and turned left onto the road that runs by my house. I followed her. Another few miles were driven and I can only assume she was calling someone on her cell phone for help. She was weaving quite a bit probably watching me in her rearview mirror. We finally got to my house and I turned off the road onto my driveway and for the first time in almost half and hour I wasn’t right behind this stranger.

So, did I imagine she was concerned (or freaked out)? If you are a woman, and this happened to you, what would you think? Oh, one more thing...I was kidding about taking the picture on this post. I found it on Google images :)

Chocolate Chip Waffles

Several years ago, sometime after a Halloween when the house was awash in chocolate, I made my fairly regular Daddy’s Breakfast for the girls.

On a whim I asked if the girls wanted crushed Hershey bars on top of their pancakes. After a loud and resounding yes from the crowd, a tradition was born. It’s got a bit out of hand.

Now, after a few years have gone by, and hundreds of bags of chocolate chips consumed, the “chip-count” per pancake or waffle has risen beyond the acceptable level. With pancakes I can control it somewhat (when I add them at the griddle versus manual application at the table by the girls). With the frozen waffles, which the girls can make on their own, the standard number of chips is now up to 20.

This came as a surprise to me as I plopped little R’s waffle on a plate this morning and asked her how many chocolate chips she wanted. I couldn’t remember if the standard was 8, or 10. Perhaps 12. “I’ll take 20” was her response. After my expressed surprise and refusal to surrender that many precious particles of chocolate she informed me that was how many the girls used now. I guess it’s like a chip for every single indention in the waffle.

Nope. I gave her 12 and let the household know that was the top limit of chocolate for breakfast.

I Like The Beatles More Than Aly & AJ

Sweeter words were never spoken by any other 8 year old girl. It happened while driving to dinner at Macaroni Grill. I had made a mix CD to play out by the pool a few weeks ago, loaded with some of the best Beatles songs (not all well known), and it ended up in our family van.

Michelle was driving- I was just too exhausted after a long day. I leaned back in the seat, closed my eyes, and let the Beatles pour out of the speakers. All four girls have learned most of the songs and were singing along.

During one of the quieter songs- I think it was Across The Universe- A mentioned casually that she liked The Beatles more than Aly & AJ (the nearly undisputed music heavy weight with the girls. Switchfoot and Relient K are up there too). All 3 of the other girls agreed, and a couple even mentioned The Beatles were their favorite group.

My life is complete.