Columbus Day (long) weekend
It was an eventful three days.
Saturday
On Saturday, we'd been asked to be designated drivers to King Richard's Faire for Teri's brother and his wife and friends. We did that last year, too.
Teri and I didn't hang out with them, but spent the day walking around the Faire. It was warmer and drier than last year, which was nice. I was wishing that Sebastian had come with us, but Teri wouldn't allow it; she thought that the women with the ridiculously squeezed breasts would be inappropriate for him.
Of course there were millions of children there, and it would have been utter paradise for him, so she agreed that he can come next time.
We had some fun. Spent way too much money. I got a half-yard of Pepsi, and brought the half-yard home as a souvenir. Got a new belt; I'd bought my old belt from a different vendor at King Richard's Faire about 22 years ago, and it was starting to fall apart. The new belt is beautiful, black, very thick, and sturdy. It was cut and punched to my size (the holes are really nice and large) and cost $30 plus tax.
We bought an Ocarina of Time for Sebastian for $39, along with a Zelda songbook. It came in Zelda blue, and is stamped with the Triforce! I immediately learned the Zelda theme, and drove Teri crazy with it. We're going to give it to Sebastian for Christmas, along with a wooden sword and shield. We spent way too much money. :(
We saw the Tiger Show, which was pretty neat; it included Hercules the Ligor, who is 11 feet tall and absolutely enormous. They'd warned people to stay in their seats during the show for their own safety. Nonetheless, several morons insisted on getting up, leaving, and then coming back. People from the show in the aisles tried to stop them, but the stupid bastards just ignored them. It would have served them right to be eaten!
We saw Rafferty the Piper (good show), and The Wonder Show, which was GREAT. The magician/comedian, "Oliver the Ordinary" (David Oliver) had Teri and me laughing like crazy throughout the show. It was great! Funny thing, though: he reminded me a lot of klyfix for some reason.
Of the ride home, the less said the better.
Sebastian had stayed all day with Teri's mother, and it had been planned that he would spend the night at her place (although I hadn't been told that until Saturday morning), but he wanted to come home and spend the night with us - so he did.
Sunday
Sunday was my day to sleep in, and I desperately needed it. I heard Teri tell Sebastian downstairs not to wake me up. So of course he came up every five to ten minutes from 8:30 on to ask me to play with him, or cook him something, or to say that he'd be waking me up later.
We'd promised to man the Elks parking lot from 11-1 that day. There's an Autumnfest in Woonsocket every Columbus Day weekend, Saturday through Monday, and the Elks lot is very close to the festival. So since they sponsor Sebastian's troop, they let them charge $5 per person to park there for the festival on Sunday (Elks continue to park there for free, of course, although one or two thoughtfully made a donation).
Teri came along. When we got there the Dunkin' munchkins were just running out, so I walked over to the nearby DD and got a 50-pack. We parents chatted while five of six of the Cubs played and took money from people who were parking. The weather was nice, so it was fun. I also found out that FIOS will be coming to our neighborhood soon, since one of the fathers works for Verizon.
I can't remember what we did for the rest of the day; relaxed, mostly. I read a lot of The Lord of the Rings to Sebastian and Teri, in part to keep them from watching TV (per his pediatrician's orders). It went well.
Monday
I was rather dreading Monday. We were going to march in the Columbus Day parade again. That meant we had to get up at 7AM and get to the Wal-Mart parking lot by 8. Teri dropped us off. I'd forgotten to put on my new belt, but Wal-Mart was open so I ran in with Sebastian and bought a new cheap one (reversible).
I was totally loaded down. I had three bottles of water, the camera, extra batteries, The Fellowship of the Ring...my pockets were bulging, and my coat weighed over ten pounds!
We'd planned for the kids to pick up and bag trash along the route as they marched, showing that the Scouts "leave no trace". But at the last minute it was decided that since the kids would be marching and taking turns carrying the flag and troop banner, it was the parents who'd be picking up the trash. Fortunately I'd bought two 12-packs of blue Nitrile gloves for the kids.
I was also disappointed that unlike last year, we parents were told NOT to speak to our children, and in fact were separated from them by the Boy Scouts and a pick-up truck. They only wanted the leaders to speak to the kids, to avoid confusing them.
So we marched for around 3.5 miles carrying big bags of trash, picking trash off the ground and taking trash from parade-watchers. Unfortunately some of them were throwing away half-full cups of coffee and soda. The bags weren't leak-proof, so within moments all of us had coffee/trash juice all over our shoes and lower legs.
And carrying heavy trash bags out at your side (trying to avoid getting more of that disgusting liquid on you) for three and a half miles is no joke, I can tell you! My arms, back, and hips were killing me. Although to tell you the truth, I hurt a lot less than I'd feared I would, and I'm feeling no real ill-effects today. I must be in better shape that I'd thought!
Towards the end of the march, the leaders up front called me. Sebastian was crying; he'd fallen down (apparently horsing around with a kid with whom he often gets in trouble) and hurt his knee. I dumped my bag in the pickup truck (it was PILED with full trash bags), and put my arm around him. People "oohed" sympathetically when they saw him crying. Some policemen thought he was crying because the march was so long, and they said "It's almost over!", but I told them "He fell down!". We got to the end and I checked his knee; it wasn't bleeding or seriously scraped, though I'm sure he bumped it hard and it hurt. Eventually he stopped crying and I took him over to where Teri was parked. The other cubs were going to have their pictures taken with the Elks, but we went home.
Later we went to the Autumnfest. Sebastian really wanted to go on the rides. I was worried, because we're really broke; we have about twenty dollars to live on until I get paid on Thursday (and the money is going to zoom out right away). But Teri had promised, and I'd have taken him anyway. We told him he could only have one ride.
We stopped at a few booths first. I signed up to be notified when FIOS was available for us (it will be cheaper than COX cable, plus the internet should be much faster). Teri signed up for some home improvement contests. Sebastian got a little foam football, some candy corn, and some iced tea. We saw living statues and an old artillery gun (that last being a permanent installation). It was really crowded there!
Disaster awaited us. They had the Tilt-A-Whirl that Sebastian loves so much, and we bought the four tickets necessary for him to ride it. But the operator wouldn't let him ride! I couldn't understand why, at first; he's certainly tall enough. But the operator had spotted Sebastian's cast, and the sign said that people with injuries couldn't ride. Sebastian cried and cried. ALL of the rides had that sign, even the kiddy rides. We'd wasted $4. As we walked out he blamed me for breaking his arm, and said it was all my fault. That was a bit hard to take!
At the entrance we bought him a souvenir. He picked a really flimsy red ninja sword, but it was broken. So was a second one that we found on the stand. Finally we found a third one that wasn't broken, and the guy threw in both of the broken swords for free. Three swords made Sebastian happy; he started planning battles with his friends.
We went to Wright's Dairy to get some milk, and then we went home and unwound. It was a relatively quiet and peaceful evening. I read to him from The Lord of the Rings, and after he and Teri fell asleep I played World of Warcraft until 11 PM.
Saturday
On Saturday, we'd been asked to be designated drivers to King Richard's Faire for Teri's brother and his wife and friends. We did that last year, too.
Teri and I didn't hang out with them, but spent the day walking around the Faire. It was warmer and drier than last year, which was nice. I was wishing that Sebastian had come with us, but Teri wouldn't allow it; she thought that the women with the ridiculously squeezed breasts would be inappropriate for him.
Of course there were millions of children there, and it would have been utter paradise for him, so she agreed that he can come next time.
We had some fun. Spent way too much money. I got a half-yard of Pepsi, and brought the half-yard home as a souvenir. Got a new belt; I'd bought my old belt from a different vendor at King Richard's Faire about 22 years ago, and it was starting to fall apart. The new belt is beautiful, black, very thick, and sturdy. It was cut and punched to my size (the holes are really nice and large) and cost $30 plus tax.
We bought an Ocarina of Time for Sebastian for $39, along with a Zelda songbook. It came in Zelda blue, and is stamped with the Triforce! I immediately learned the Zelda theme, and drove Teri crazy with it. We're going to give it to Sebastian for Christmas, along with a wooden sword and shield. We spent way too much money. :(
We saw the Tiger Show, which was pretty neat; it included Hercules the Ligor, who is 11 feet tall and absolutely enormous. They'd warned people to stay in their seats during the show for their own safety. Nonetheless, several morons insisted on getting up, leaving, and then coming back. People from the show in the aisles tried to stop them, but the stupid bastards just ignored them. It would have served them right to be eaten!
We saw Rafferty the Piper (good show), and The Wonder Show, which was GREAT. The magician/comedian, "Oliver the Ordinary" (David Oliver) had Teri and me laughing like crazy throughout the show. It was great! Funny thing, though: he reminded me a lot of klyfix for some reason.
Of the ride home, the less said the better.
Sebastian had stayed all day with Teri's mother, and it had been planned that he would spend the night at her place (although I hadn't been told that until Saturday morning), but he wanted to come home and spend the night with us - so he did.
Sunday
Sunday was my day to sleep in, and I desperately needed it. I heard Teri tell Sebastian downstairs not to wake me up. So of course he came up every five to ten minutes from 8:30 on to ask me to play with him, or cook him something, or to say that he'd be waking me up later.
We'd promised to man the Elks parking lot from 11-1 that day. There's an Autumnfest in Woonsocket every Columbus Day weekend, Saturday through Monday, and the Elks lot is very close to the festival. So since they sponsor Sebastian's troop, they let them charge $5 per person to park there for the festival on Sunday (Elks continue to park there for free, of course, although one or two thoughtfully made a donation).
Teri came along. When we got there the Dunkin' munchkins were just running out, so I walked over to the nearby DD and got a 50-pack. We parents chatted while five of six of the Cubs played and took money from people who were parking. The weather was nice, so it was fun. I also found out that FIOS will be coming to our neighborhood soon, since one of the fathers works for Verizon.
I can't remember what we did for the rest of the day; relaxed, mostly. I read a lot of The Lord of the Rings to Sebastian and Teri, in part to keep them from watching TV (per his pediatrician's orders). It went well.
Monday
I was rather dreading Monday. We were going to march in the Columbus Day parade again. That meant we had to get up at 7AM and get to the Wal-Mart parking lot by 8. Teri dropped us off. I'd forgotten to put on my new belt, but Wal-Mart was open so I ran in with Sebastian and bought a new cheap one (reversible).
I was totally loaded down. I had three bottles of water, the camera, extra batteries, The Fellowship of the Ring...my pockets were bulging, and my coat weighed over ten pounds!
We'd planned for the kids to pick up and bag trash along the route as they marched, showing that the Scouts "leave no trace". But at the last minute it was decided that since the kids would be marching and taking turns carrying the flag and troop banner, it was the parents who'd be picking up the trash. Fortunately I'd bought two 12-packs of blue Nitrile gloves for the kids.
I was also disappointed that unlike last year, we parents were told NOT to speak to our children, and in fact were separated from them by the Boy Scouts and a pick-up truck. They only wanted the leaders to speak to the kids, to avoid confusing them.
So we marched for around 3.5 miles carrying big bags of trash, picking trash off the ground and taking trash from parade-watchers. Unfortunately some of them were throwing away half-full cups of coffee and soda. The bags weren't leak-proof, so within moments all of us had coffee/trash juice all over our shoes and lower legs.
And carrying heavy trash bags out at your side (trying to avoid getting more of that disgusting liquid on you) for three and a half miles is no joke, I can tell you! My arms, back, and hips were killing me. Although to tell you the truth, I hurt a lot less than I'd feared I would, and I'm feeling no real ill-effects today. I must be in better shape that I'd thought!
Towards the end of the march, the leaders up front called me. Sebastian was crying; he'd fallen down (apparently horsing around with a kid with whom he often gets in trouble) and hurt his knee. I dumped my bag in the pickup truck (it was PILED with full trash bags), and put my arm around him. People "oohed" sympathetically when they saw him crying. Some policemen thought he was crying because the march was so long, and they said "It's almost over!", but I told them "He fell down!". We got to the end and I checked his knee; it wasn't bleeding or seriously scraped, though I'm sure he bumped it hard and it hurt. Eventually he stopped crying and I took him over to where Teri was parked. The other cubs were going to have their pictures taken with the Elks, but we went home.
Later we went to the Autumnfest. Sebastian really wanted to go on the rides. I was worried, because we're really broke; we have about twenty dollars to live on until I get paid on Thursday (and the money is going to zoom out right away). But Teri had promised, and I'd have taken him anyway. We told him he could only have one ride.
We stopped at a few booths first. I signed up to be notified when FIOS was available for us (it will be cheaper than COX cable, plus the internet should be much faster). Teri signed up for some home improvement contests. Sebastian got a little foam football, some candy corn, and some iced tea. We saw living statues and an old artillery gun (that last being a permanent installation). It was really crowded there!
Disaster awaited us. They had the Tilt-A-Whirl that Sebastian loves so much, and we bought the four tickets necessary for him to ride it. But the operator wouldn't let him ride! I couldn't understand why, at first; he's certainly tall enough. But the operator had spotted Sebastian's cast, and the sign said that people with injuries couldn't ride. Sebastian cried and cried. ALL of the rides had that sign, even the kiddy rides. We'd wasted $4. As we walked out he blamed me for breaking his arm, and said it was all my fault. That was a bit hard to take!
At the entrance we bought him a souvenir. He picked a really flimsy red ninja sword, but it was broken. So was a second one that we found on the stand. Finally we found a third one that wasn't broken, and the guy threw in both of the broken swords for free. Three swords made Sebastian happy; he started planning battles with his friends.
We went to Wright's Dairy to get some milk, and then we went home and unwound. It was a relatively quiet and peaceful evening. I read to him from The Lord of the Rings, and after he and Teri fell asleep I played World of Warcraft until 11 PM.