Back From DC

I'm so into blogging it's sad.  There I was visiting my uncle who was part of the elite Underwater Demolition Team of World War II.   Then after a stint in the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff he became an accomplished artist and writer, and there he was sharing with me combat stories that could curdle dirt and I'm thinking "crap, I haven't updated my website in three days." 

Uncle Bruce's life and stories are incredible.  When I'm 82--heck 42--I hope to be half as active.  He even remembers more about my last visit than I do.  Apparently I was a hit at a party he took me to.   The reason I was the life of the party may very well be the reason I forgot it, but Uncle Bruce even described my reaction to the undercooked chicken he served me in 1997.  Amazing.   While  he's a pioneer of today's Navy Seals and was an active player in most of the major American wars of he 20th century, the most amazing thing about him is that he was born in 1924 and isn't afraid of dvd's or computers.  He has a Dell with dial-up and accesses the Internet without consulting AARP or Andy Rooney.  And how many 82-year-old sailors with an accent from somewhere near Nantucket take daily trips to O Street in downtown DC?  That's where his artists studio is located...across the street from a soup kitchen.   His street name--I kid you not--is Santa Claus.  He's pretty loose with his change and that may very well have kept him alive on a block that once had five homicides in a year.   When Sarah and I got out of his Volvo station wagon we walked to the entrance of his studio with the trepidation of a cow in a drive thru. 

So it was a nice trip and we even got to spend time with Sarah's parents.  They live in Baltimore with two cats.  The pets, Jolly and Trumpet, exist so that the two humans can communicate through them.  "Jolly, tell daddy that he's smelling up the house," might be a suggested cat-related comment.  It works.  Sarah's dad goes on lots of long walks.  

I spent some of the in-law time in the back yard chopping blocks of wood.  I grew up in a wood-heated house and even though I was always the smelly kid who never had friends over because my dad would put them to work stacking wood, I've grown to miss the chopping.  It's good therapy.  

And I think one of the cats told me to stop fidgeting and go do something with myself.

Comments

[Travis]

You might think twice about your "Up to the Minute News:" header. You might try "News: Sometime between Now and 48 to 72-Hours," that way you cover your bases.

[bd_eyes]

I'm just anxiously waiting for his his report on Kobe Bryants father getting the head coach job with the WNBA team...

[ewy]

you miss the point..it's minute as in insignificant.