Month: June 2004

Last night at about 9:15 I heard the tell-tale diesel engine sound of a fire engine. In front of my house. This is the kind of sound you want to hear when you call them, and you don’t want to hear when you haven’t. I flew out of the house to see if there were flames shooting from the roof. None. (whew!)

Apparently several people (not me) had called to report the strong smell of smoke, which was VERY obvious when you were outside, and mildly obvious inside. I had noticed it, but was ignoring it. I guess mentally I figured those backyard fireplace thingies are getting so popular that this isn’t a fall/winter smell any longer.

So the fireguys wandered around my property (I have a lot of brush on my property – we only cleared half of our lot when we built the house) and then wandered down the street. Eventually they figured out a house around the corner had a small fire so they could “make s’mores”. Cripes, way to scare the whole damned neighborhood! Can’t you make them on your barbecue? Do you have to build a fire?

Last day of June. Crap. I experienced some good June activities, but I don’t feel like I took advantage of anything. It was kind of cold for June, maybe I thought it was still April or something.

Tomorrow is July. I guarantee in 31 days I’m going to be freaking out about July being gone. I should make a list of things I want to accomplish in July.

I love working, making money – don’t get me wrong. But when I was unemployed I really experienced spring and parts of summer. The parts where I wasn’t working. I got my current contract in June 2003 and I’ve worked almost every day since then. A day off here and there, but even a lot of holidays I work, because no work = no pay. I would love love love to be able to take a week off and sit around my sister’s pool, go to the beach, hit an amusement park. You know, do summer stuff. Well, maybe next year.

My son has been introduced to the joy that is dodgeball. Not the Ben Stiller movie, which I have heard is pretty funny, in a BASEketball kind of way. I loved BASEketball, so I’m sure Dodgeball is right up my alley.

No, Junior’s introduction was via the Leominster Rec department’s playground program. We call it “camp” at our house, cause that sounds cool. He seems to like the game – apparently they played it three times yesterday. Here are the rules

1. If it hits you, you are out and you have to get out of line.

2. If you throw it and someone catches it, you’re out and you have to get out of line.

3. If you get hit and you don’t get out of line, you’re cheating.

“So, how did you learn about the cheating one? Did someone forget to get out of line?”

“I thought it only counted if you got hit between here [points to neck] or here [points to belly] and I got hit here.” [points to feet]

“Ah. So next time you’ll know, then.”

“Ya, and one time I thought I got hit in the back so I got out of line but it wasn’t someone on the other team, it was someone on my team. [Laughs]”

“Ahhh, the old Friendly Fire hit. Did they let you stay in line?”

“Yup.”

See, now that’s how it should work in real life. If you get hit by Friendly Fire it shouldn’t kill you.

I’m just sayin.

Joined up with the Littleton contingent to attend a Lowell Spinners game last night. Great night, fantastic ball park. Eventually the players might get some kind of rhythm that marks them as pro ball players. Okay, that was kind of snarky, and it is a single-A ball club, but there were some plays out there that screamed tee ball. Granted, I couldn’t hit a 89mph pitch (the pitching was excellent, from where I sat) but geeeeeeez, the fielding could use some help.

All the kids had a blast, and the only disappointment was that they made big announcements that at the end of every Sunday game the kids can run the bases. So they all line up at the bottom of the 8th, only to be sent back to their seats because the game went into extra innings. It was getting late, and by late, I mean 9pm on a “school” night. The game had started at 5. We left after the 11th, and told the kids we’d try to come back to another game so they could run the bases. They eventually lost, 4-5 to Aberdeen, the team Cal Ripkin owns.

And must to Mr. Dump’s delight, Junior is now more into baseball than ever.

“It says they are going to play the Yankees.”

“Ya, they play them next. I don’t know if it starts tonight or tomorrow night.”

“Oh, me and daddy are going to be watching that.”

“And you are?”