Wrapped around his finger

During the weekdays there is about an hour when everyone has already gone on their merry way for the day while me and Brae have a few extra moments before I take him to the bus stop. We generally spend this time talking about how he is doing (socially) in school, what he is feeling, and just general chit chat. I try to keep it light because it isn't a time for lectures or a forum in which I want to dominate. I like to hear what he has to say about his life in general, and anything that is troubling him. Some days we just talk about rocks. He likes rocks, and is always bringing me what he finds in the schoolyard during recess. He has brought me some very interesting, albeit small, rocks in the past and is quite excited to show them to me at the end of the day. I do my best to tell him what they are, but sometimes I am at a loss. Instead of getting upset with me, he usually tells me he will try and find a better piece for me to look at. This makes me smile.

Well this morning I was washing off a piece of shale when he came over to watch me. I asked him if he thought his teacher may like it, since it had some pretty nice impressions in it. His eyes lit up and he said he probably would, so I went to grab some plastic baggies to wrap the rock up. Before I knew it, Brae was bringing me paper and a pen. I was a bit puzzled, and asked him if he was wanting me to write a note to accompany the rock. I hate writing notes, but he was pretty insistent upon it, so I complied. I didn't quite know what to write, but I did my best and tucked the note in with the rock. Funny how the smallest of things can make children so happy. Brae was positively beaming. Honestly, that smile of his is worth writing a thousand notes and giving my entire rock collection away. He certainly has me wrapped around his little finger. But then, they all do at one time or another



(note: His teacher mentioned to him that they would be learning about rocks soon, hence my suggestion for sending a rock to school. I thought shale would be a good choice because the sample had an enormous amount of plant impressions and could be used in showing what happens with heat and pressure etc etc. It's a 2nd/3rd grade class.)


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Grab a seat, I'll pop the popcorn!

I admit to being a bit mesmerized by the news footage on CNN and so for a few hours today I watched and waited for the tsunami to arrive. It was quite entertaining watching the newscasters become more and more frenzied as the time of estimated arrival drew near. They were like sharks in bloodied waters, switching from  one camera viewpoint to another and snipping at their consultants as they tried to explain the mechanics of tsunamis. In the middle of one particular interview, a man was stammering his explanation when the newscaster interrupted him in a very clipped manner only further compounding his ability to communicate effectively. It wasn't that the man was ill-spoken, most anyone would have stammered when attacked with questions and then interrupted mid-stream. It was as if the poor man was barraged by a tornado of these barbed questions, only because (from what I surmise) he wasn't being sensational enough for the newscaster.

And then it happened. As one of the camera views panned across a beach, I saw a man surfing! I jumped up a bit in my seat to make sure I saw what I thought I saw, and yup- it was a man in the water surfing! At first the newscasters just ignored it, like the proverbial elephant in the kitchen, but as time went by and it just became more and more obvious, one of them finally says, "There is a guy on the beach. Maybe he doesn't have a radio or a TV or computer, so doesn't know about the tsunami. Or, maybe he just doesn't have any sense. I wish I could just shout at that guy." To which I thought to myself, no- don't shout at him. If he can't figure out that there is something wrong when NO ONE IS ON THE BEACH or if he just prefers to ignore all sense in order to get a surfing thrill then he should be left to his own devices. Just keep the camera on him and I'll pop some popcorn- we can then all see how "great" it is to surf in something akin to a flash flood. The dummy.


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Holy Cow!

Before I went to bed last night I heard about the 8.8 Earthquake that hit Chile, but it was too early to get any information on it, so I waited until this morning to read about the damage. From the latest reports, over 147 deaths have been reported and the main road connecting the north from the south is destroyed. A prison reportedly partially collapsed and some inmates escaped only adding to the commotion. Meanwhile, Hawaii has been issued with a tsunami warning and to my utter amazement the news cameras show people along the coast taking pictures of the surf!! What in the heck are these people thinking? Did they not see any footage from the tsunami in Indonesia? Those waves come in with such speed there isn't a chance in heck they can outrun them, yet there they are like dodo birds taking pictures. Crazy. I guess that gives credence to the old adage that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

I am impressed with the people of Chile however. There appears to be no looting or any crazy-making idiots out on the streets causing havoc and the buildings seem(from the film footage) to have held up quite well, but then I am not surprised. It is an area that is well aware of the geologic dangers and hence they have prepared accordingly.

Presently the news is reporting that they predict the waves to be about 1-7ft. and would hit at 4pm EST. I think what a lot of people are unaware of is that when the tsunami hits it won't just hit the eastern coastline, but rather it will wrap around the islands hitting both sides. Or, maybe they are well aware of that fact and I am just trying to justify idiotic behavior.